Advance Wars: Red Mesa
by Mesan
Summary: FINISHED! Set after the events of Advance Wars 2, a country that has kept itself hidden for years, nursing a burning hatred of Black Hole reveals itself... NOTE: Obselete: Read Children of the Desert instead.
1. A Single Mistake

Author Note: This is my first AW fic, so please review! This is my first serious piece of writing, so...err...I'm don't know where I'm going with this statement...so...go listen to Metallica, or else!

Side Note: I don't know if Orange Star has a desert, but Yellow Comet's too small to have one, Drake's Tsunamis would have made sure there wasn't one in Green Earth, and Blue Moon's too cold, so...

Edit: I forgot the disclaimer! So here goes...

Disclaimer: Advance Wars, Advance Wars 2, and their content are copyright Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. Red Mesa and it's CO's are mine. MINE!

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Advance Wars: Red Mesa – Chapter 1: A Single Mistake.

By CO Shade.

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Location: Intel Room, Yellow Comet HQ, Yellow Comet.

Time: 2100 Hours YC Time.

Sonja, Yellow Comet's youngest CO, and chief of Intel, stared intently at the computer screen in front of her, as it detailed what her recon team stationed in Orange Star's Lynx Desert had found. One statistic especially intrigued her. She pushed her glasses back up her nose, saving them from falling off her nose, her eyes narrowing as she read off the ambient electromagnetic levels recorded. Her father, the accident-prone Emperor (and CO) Kanbei, noticed this (as he was playing Snake on the computer next to her). "What's wrong Sonja dear? What did your recon team find?" Sonja sighed. "This will take some explaining." She pressed a few buttons, and a continuous line graph appeared on the screen. She traced the line with a slender finger. "These are the ambient electromagnetic levels recorded over the whole month. They're at normal levels for approximately eight days, then..." The line she traced rose sharply and suddenly, peaked for a while, and fell again. "They do that."

As usual, Kanbei was mystified. "Ambient? Electromagnetic?" Sonja sighed, exasperated, and closed her eyes. She opened them again and turned to her father. "Ambient means background Father, like ambient noise means background noise. Electromagnetic energy is oscillating – vibrating, to be simple – electric and magnetic fields, the effects of which are the electromagnetic spectrum, which is everything from radio waves up to gamma rays." Kanbei was silent for a moment, and Sonja could just about hear the cogs in his brain whirring. "I see. Please go on, dear." Sonja turned back to the screen. "EM levels rose by a factor of 15 times the norm for roughly eleven days, peaked, and fell again. No Yellow Comet – or Orange Star, for that matter - technology can match whatever is generating those EM fields. Nothing can. And it's definitely not natural."

Kanbei, again, was none the wiser. By way of an explanation, he said, "Maybe it's a large thunderstorm, Sonja..." She shook her head, gazing at the graph. "Father, it's the desert. It's the dry season all year out there. Whatever happened there was man-made. I don't like it..." Kanbei clapped a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Whatever it is, it isn't our concern," He said. "Orange Star will be able to deal with it." And with that, he walked out of the Intel Room. Sonja rolled her eyes. Typical Kanbei. Too bad for him, she was going to tell Orange Star anyway. Getting up from her chair, she left the room, a small smile on her face. "It's so cliché, but this could be the start of something big," she muttered.

***

Location: Command and Communications Room, Orange Star HQ, Orange Star.

Time: 0900 Hours OS Time.

Nell sat deep in thought in front of her computer screen, contemplating her move. She was playing on a Real Time Strategy Game that accurately modelled real-life armies, their units, and COs. Naturally, she was playing as herself, but her online opponent, a person she knew only as 'Shade', was using a custom-made CO. They knew each other's capabilities well, apart from the fact that Nell had never seen Shade's Super CO Power...a message appeared at the bottom of the screen. Brushing an errant lock of blonde hair out of her eye, she looked at it. Judging from the red-tinted shades, and the smirk on the sender's avatar's face, it was Shade. (Come on Nell, you're surprisingly slow for a top-grade CO...) It said. She typed a message back. (And what about you huh? I've seen Olaf move faster than you do, AND he was in a rainstorm!) And awaited the inevitable Shade-brand comeback. Unexpectedly, a window popped up on her screen. (Urgent transmission from Yellow Comet,) it said. (Open?)

Nell frowned. Sonja should still be busy with her recon in the Lynx Desert, Kanbei would be looking over her shoulder, and Sensei would be asleep. Why would they contact her? She shrugged and sent another message to Shade: (BRB, CO business. You wouldn't know what that's like in real life of course, being a civilian.) She smirked at the insult. A reply from Shade popped up, but she had already opened the Yellow Comet transmission, to be greeted by an anxious-looking Sonja. "Hi Nell." She said. "Hello Sonja. You look pretty tired. What time is it there?" Nell asked. "About 9:30 YC time," Sonja replied. "I can't talk long, but this is urgent," She continued. "These are the latest results from the Lynx recon." Another window opened on Nell's screen. Her expression took a worried turn when she saw the EM levels. Sonja nodded and smiled grimly. "Exactly," She said. "What do you want me to do about it? It's your desert." Nell thought for a while, and finally came up with an answer. "Keep getting intel. We might be lucky and record it again. See what you can find." Sonja nodded. "OK, I'll talk to you later. See ya." The window closed as she ended the transmission. Sighing, Nell turned her attention back to the game, only to be greeted by the message that Shade had sent. (I do know what it's like to be a real CO, Nell. Just because my country, my fellow CO's and I are invisible to you ignorant people doesn't mean we don't exist.) Then came another message. (Shade has left the game. You win by default!) Nell just sat there, eyes wide and body numb from shock. What was that all about?

***

Location: Undisclosed

Time: 0910 Hours OS Time.

Shade leaned back from his computer, teeth slightly bared in what was a massive expression of emotion for him. How dare she? Saying he was a civilian...then again, she didn't know about him or Red Mesa. He had kept it that way. Nell didn't really deserve that outburst, and now - he slapped a hand to his forehead - he'd practically told her Red Mesa existed! She might see Sonja's reports and put two and two together..."How could I have been so stupid?" He groaned. His voice in his head had the answer: "Simple. You told her." Shade shook his head. The swish of a door told him that someone had just entered the room. He swivelled round in his chair to see Swift, his second-in-command, standing in front of him. "You wanted to see me, Shade?" She asked, smiling. He smiled back. It was common knowledge among the army that Swift had a thing for him, and many were wondering why Shade hadn't asked her out yet, seeing as, on average, everybody's head turned when she walked past. "Yeah, it's about Sonja's recon team," He said. "Have they picked up anything?" Swift sighed, and nodded grimly. "They picked up the shrouding surge we had."

"Damn," Said Shade through gritted teeth. He thought silently for a while, Swift looking at him expectantly. "Send out a team to do counter-recon on them." He said at last. Swift looked confused. "Why, may I ask?" She inquired. Shade smiled mysteriously. "You'll see," He answered. Swift nodded, turned, and began to walk out, pausing at the doorway to look back at Shade. "You know, you're cute when you act all mysterious!" Before Shade could think of a good reply, she left. He sat there for a while, before getting up off his chair, and saying "Eh, I dunno," to no-one in particular. He then left the room and headed down the corridor, back to his personal quarters. "A single mistake can change the fortunes of an entire country...I just hope I'm not gambling with Red Mesa's secrecy..."

***

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End of Chapter 1

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Red Mesa CO Profiles follow

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CO's Name – Shade

Real Name – Matthew Awner

Age – 20

Sex - Male

Army - Red Mesa

Skill - +1 To all unit's vision and range, and land units are 'shrouded' (see Comments). +10% to cost of all units.

CO Power - EM Jamming: Causes instant FoW for one day. Anything or anyone (including Sonja) cannot see through this FoW. Shade is not affected.

Super Power - EMP Strike: Completely disables all enemy units for one day. Boosts Shade's units by 10% for Attack and Defence.

Charge Time - xxxxXXXXX

Info - A scheming but sociable CO who uses EM technology in combat. Has a relationship with Swift, and is the leader of Red Mesa.

Hit - Secrecy, Sonja (out of respect), Swift

Miss - Black Hole

Quote – CO Power – "I see you, but you don't see me!"

Super Power - "Oh, did you want to move your units today? Such a pity."

Appearance - Youthful, has short spiky brown hair and brown eyes. Always wears red tinted sunglasses, and often wears black and/or red.

Comments - 'Shrouded': Basically the land equivalent of a sub diving. However, indirect units have a vague idea of where the unit can be (there is a 3x3 cross where the unit could be when the indirect unit chooses to attack. If the unit picks the right square, they hit the enemy unit) When an enemy stumbles upon a shrouded unit, it can still fire on it.

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CO's Name – Cougar

Real Name – Miavia Hawking

Age – 22

Sex - Male

Army - Red Mesa

Skill - +10% to attack for all units, but –10% to defence. +2 to Movement, but –2 to range for indirect units.

CO Power – Focus: +15% to attack, -15% to defence, +3 to movement range, -3 to indirect range.

Super Power – Surgical Strike: One enemy units is selected by Cougar. That unit is instantly destroyed.

Charge Time - xxxXXXXXX

Info – A focused, intense CO who makes precise, direct attacks to vital enemy units.

Hit – Max (for being like him)

Miss – Grit and Black Hole

Quote – CO Power – "Focus, Cougar...focus..."

Super Power - "BANG! There goes your vital unit!"

Appearance – Rugged, he has long, wild brown hair and browny-grey eyes. Always wears a greyish-brown trenchcoat, much to Shade's annoyance (he wants him to wear something red to symbolise his allegiance)

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CO's Name – Diesel

Real Name – Carla Richards

Age – 22

Sex – Female

Army - Red Mesa

Skill - +10% Attack/Defence and +1 movement range for fuel-powered (vehicle and aerial) units. –5% Attack/Defence and –1 movement range for other units (excluding infantry and mechs).

CO Power – Nitro Burst: +20% Attack Defence and +3 movement for fuel-powered units.

Super Power – High Octane: +30% Attack/Defence and +4 movement for fuel-powered units. –10% Attack/Defence and –2 movement for other units.

Charge Time - xxxXXXXX

Info – A headstrong, always-ready mechanic. Likes fuel-powered units.

Hit – Andy, Mecahnics

Miss – Black Hole and Sea units (and Drake)

Quote – CO Power – "Time to redline!"

Super Power – "I'm gonna fire on all cylinders now!"

Appearance – Cute, she has shoulder length blonde hair and green eyes. She's short, and Shade uses that as a joke a lot (as well as the dumb blonde jokes)

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CO's Name – Swift

Real Name – Sarah Hewes

Age – 20

Sex – Female

Army - Red Mesa

Skill – +10% to Attack/Defence and +1 to movement for all air units. –10% to Attack/Defence to all other units.

CO Power – Swift Attack: An enemy unit is selected. A squadron of elite spy fighters appears and attacks the target, doing it 60% damage, even if it destroys the target.

Super Power – Angry Sky: All air units' Attack/Defence stats are boosted by 20%. Movement for all air units gets a +2.

Charge Time - xxxxXXXX

Info – A beautiful princess of the sky. Prefers Red Mesa spy bombers and fighters for most attacks.

Hit – Birds, Shade

Miss – Black Hole, Eagle (She sees him as a rival)

Quote – CO Power – "By air is the best way to wage war!"

Super Power – "When the sky gets angry, you're in trouble..."

Appearance – Very pretty, she has long, silky black hair and ice blue eyes, and is of medium height.

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Author Note: Yay! First Chapter! Partay! Read and Review people, this story will get better-

Shade: If you can be bothered to write the next chapter. *Smirks*

Shut up. R&R please!

Shade: Shouldn't be begging now, should you? *Another smirk*

SHUT UP! See ya in Chapter 2!


	2. The Claw Of The Enemy

Author Note: Second chapter, and things are going to get complicated for Red Mesa...and Black Hole features! Thanks to you reviewers, you're the people who make us feel happy. Feel the love...^_^

Disclaimer: Advance Wars, Advance Wars 2, and their content are copyright Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. Red Mesa and its CO's are mine. YOU HEAR ME? MIIIIIIIINNNNNNEEEE!

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Advance Wars: Red Mesa – Chapter 2: The Claw of the Enemy.

By CO Shade.

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Location: Schwarz Bunker, Under Black Hole HQ, Black Hole.

Time: 1300 Hours BH Time.

Hawke sat alone in his shadowy office brooding, accompanied only by a solitary mug of black coffee. He was thinking endlessly about how to do the one thing Sturm - he spat his name with contempt in his mind - didn't do. How to invade the rest of Cosmo Land and win. They had been so close last time...now they had had to waste two years rearming and building up their shattered economy. Every new plan Hawke made was looked at meticulously by the other Black Hole CO's, and every single one had a flaw. Some had several. His lowest point was when Flak pointed out three flaws in one of his plans. Since then, he had been put on a strict regime of low-caffeine drinks (which he was currently breaking) after he threw an unfortunate soldier at Flak in a coffee-fuelled rage. Hawke smirked. Flak had since vowed never to find flaws in his plans again to save more soldiers being thrown at him. Or at walls. But that wasn't the main source of his displeasure and general bad mood. He didn't even know what was the source of his main displeasure (hence the bad mood). It was something niggling at him - something he had forgotten. He took a long drink from his mug, realised it was now empty, and threw it at the wall opposite the door, shattering the mug on impact. "Blasted damned empty mug," he muttered. "I need more coffee..." He was just about to rise from his chair to go a stealthy coffee-recovery mission (the other CO's were patrolling the area around the coffee machine to make sure he didn't use it), when there was a knock on his office door. "Enter," He mumbled.

Lash peeked around the door she had just opened and walked in, and Hawke was immediately reminded of how much she had matured since he had taken control of Black Hole. Gone was the frizzy afro and her usual clothing: Lash's hair was loose now, down to her shoulders, and she wore a proper military uniform, unlike the other CO's. She had matured mentally too: She was still a downright genius, but she was now less childlike and playful, and was more formal than anything else. Hawke's mind snapped back to the here and now just in time to hear Lash speak. "You wanted to see me, Hawke?" She said. Hawke leant back in his chair, putting his feet on the table in front of him. "Yes. What have you been doing recently? I've seen no new inventions for a long while. Explain." Lash grinned, and dropped a folder on his table. "This is what I've been doing. You're gonna love this!" Hawke swung his feet off the table and leant forward to open the folder. He looked at the plans and photos inside. His eyes hadn't been that wide since he walked into the World Coffee Expo as a child. 

"Whoa," Was all he could manage to say. "Lash, what could ever achieve this range and power?" Lash pulled up another chair and sat down across the table from Hawke. "An orbital missile platform, that's what. This weapon, fully armed, could strike all of Cosmo Land's major cities within _a day_." Hawke allowed himself a small whistle. "How long will it need to be put into action?" Lash took a sheet of paper out of the folder and scanned down it. "A few months to build, and one more to arm. shall I start on it?" Hawke handed the folder and it's contents back to her. "Definitely. We could - no, we WILL start an invasion in the meantime. Even if we're beaten back, with this we could win..." Lash nodded and left the office, leaving Hawke alone in a daydream of invasion, destruction and conquest.

Location: Command and Communications Room, Red Mesa HQ, Red Mesa.

Time: 0700 Hours OS Time, the next day.

Shade was sitting in his place at the semi-legendary Red Table in the Command and Comm Room. The Red Table had acquired its name from the fact that the Red Mesa CO's always, among other things, played cards, argued and held discussions and briefings there, with named places for each of them. Shade spun around in his chair just in time to see Cougar and Diesel, two of the other Red Mesa CO's, run into the room. "Back from intel duty, I see," Shade said. "You're late." Cougar looked disgruntled as he and Diesel sat down in their places. "You try getting intel and arriving back on time when Sonja's hunting for ya," He growled. "Diesel here had a dumb blonde moment-"

"As per usual," Shade said, smirking.

"HEY!" Shouted Diesel, flicking her blonde hair back. "I resent that!"

"Resent it, but don't deny it," Shade said, grinning. It was way too easy to annoy her. Especially with his intellect.

"-and nearly walked her recon team right into enemy vision range," Cougar finished. Shade folded his arms. "So, what did you find? Anything worth noting?" 

Cougar motioned to Diesel, who gave him a folder. He opened it and dropped it's contents onto the table. "Sonja's going over the entire area with a fine comb. She's determined to find something, but since we've been using you units-"

"They haven't seen anything apart from what looks like heat haze." Shade finished. "Shrouded units rock. Anything else?" Cougar nodded, and said "Sonja's here in person. She arrived last night in a T Copter from Yellow Comet." Shade nodded. "If things get troublesome, I'll use my EM Jamming Power," He said. "There's no way she can see through that. But then again, she'll figure out someone's trying to stop her..." Cougar picked up a sheet of paper from the table. "Also, Orange Star spy satellites have been focused on the desert since yesterday." Shade scowled, but was saved from answering by Swift appearing on the main communications screen. "Swift! Why aren't you here?" Shade asked. Swift put an airforce helmet over her head and opened the visor. "I want to know if you'll let me do aerial recon on Sonja," She said. "Can I?" Shade nodded. "Go ahead, but if you get spotted, on your own head be it." Swift smiled. "Thanks. We're using shrouded spy planes, so we won't be seen," She said. And with that, she disappeared from the screen. Shade turned back to look at the reports on the table. "Shouldn't go tempting fate, Sarah..."

Location: Runway 3S, Red Mesa.

Time: 0710 Hours OS Time.

Swift and four other pilots taxied in their spy jets along an underground runway into takeoff position. she radioed the other pilots, and said "Right. We exit on the south side of Mesa 3, opposite to Sonja's recon team, swing around, and do a fly-by. Get as much info as you can." Swift watched a takeoff countdown appear on her HUD, and she fired her engines up, hearing the other jets do the same.

3...

2...

1...

The jets' engines flared and roared, and they started to move forward along the runway, gaining momentum by the second. They passed a row of sensor beacons on the runway, and the wall at the end of the tunnel slid down, letting sunlight stream in. The jets streaked out of the opening, rising rapidly into the small clouds above. Swift checked they were out of the range of any means of detection, and opened a comm channel to the other pilots. "We're clear. Shroud in five seconds." She said. "Five...four...three...two...one...shroud!" Swift hit a button in front of her, and heard the hum of the shrouding device behind her as it powered up. She looked to her left. The two jets she could see were rippling like heat haze...then they faded out of sight. "All shrouded and ready to roll, ma'am!" One of the pilots said. "Engines to full, all scanners on," Swift said. She circled back round, leading the other four jets back over Mesa 3, dipping down out of the clouds. There was Sonja's recon team, a string of yellow dots and tents off in the distance, rapidly getting bigger.

Suddenly, one of the pilots gave a frightened yell. "Residual charges from the shrouding surge Sonja detected! We're flying right into them!" Swift saw the shroud integrity meter on her HUD go haywire, and disappear. "ABORT! ABORT! The shrouds have failed! Get outta here, we're right above Sonja's recon!" She yelled, seeing the her fellow pilots' jets ripple back into view as they scattered and flew back towards the mesas. "Great," She groaned as she swung her jet back round and followed the others back home. "Just what we need..."

Location: Yellow Comet Recon Outpost, Lynx Desert, Orange Star.

Time: 0730 Hours OS Time.

Sonja yawned as she walked out of her tent, a mug of coffee in her hand. It had been a long flight from the palace at Yellow Comet, and she had only just slept off the jet lag. She checked her watch. "Seven thirty? I'm late!" She ran into the open-walled intel tent (conveniently placed opposite to hers), taking a sip of coffee as she hurried over to some Yellow Comet technicians sitting at computers. "Anything yet?" She asked them. One of the techs shook his head "Nothing, ma'am," He said. "But...what the Sturm is that?!" Sonja followed his bewildered stare, to see five sleek jets just appear out of thin air in front of them. Quick as lightning, she put down her mug of coffee (accidentally spilling it over an unfortunate tech and scalding him) and whipped out a pair of binoculars. The jets scattered and wheeled back towards the mesas in the distance. "Red..." She said after a while. She put down her binoculars and looked at the techs, all of them (except one, who had gone to get treated for coffee-related burns) at a loss for words. "No country has red units...call a Cosmo Land CO conference! We're dealing with a new country here!" The techs immediately started sending transmissions to the other countries, while Sonja dashed back to the T Copter that had brought her to the desert. "Take us to the Heaven's Eye! We need to get to the bottom of this!"

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End of Chapter 2

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Author Note: Second Chapter, and STILL no real military action. But in Chapter 3, Orange Star and Blue Moon-

Shade: Who are a bunch of aggressive land stealers, if you ask me-

Shade! Have you read the script?

Shade...Maybe.

Do I have to send in the Inland Revenue to break your legs for no particular reason?

Shade: O.O Inland Revenue? *Long and drawn-out scream*

Exactly. Roll on Chapter 3! At the Heaven's Eye (which is a neutral island used for CO conferences) , Orange Star and Blue Moon decide to take back the desert (well, Blue Moon wants it for themselves) and we finally see Red Mesa, and Shade, in action against Max! \/\/00T!


	3. Red Dawn

Author Note: Chapter 3, and we finally get some military action! It's Max vs. Shade...brute force against stealth and smarts! Who will win? You decide!

Shade: This isn't Big Brother UK, you know.

...Shut up.

Disclaimer: Advance Wars, Advance Wars 2, and their content are copyright Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. Red Mesa and its CO's are mine...my own....myyyyy precciousssss....

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Advance Wars: Red Mesa – Chapter 3: Red Dawn.

By CO Shade.

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Location: Heaven's Eye Conference Building, Heaven's Eye Island.

Time: 1400 Hours OS Time.

All of Cosmo Land's CO's were assembled in a room on the top floor of the Heaven's Eye building, sat around a large semicircular table. Yellow Comet had arrived first: in the case of Sonja, the previous day. Kanbei and Sensei had arrived early in the morning, with Sensei nodding off to sleep on the flight and nearly getting left behind. Next was Orange Star, with Max, Nell, Sami and Andy, the last reading a book on mechanics as he came in, and as he was not looking where he was going, smacked into a wall. To everyone else's surprise, Orange Star's President, Robert Shawnson, was with them. Green Earth was after them, Eagle and Drake arguing loudly about what transport they used to get to the island, with Jess ignoring them. Maybe it was the earplugs that let her manage that amazing feat. Blue Moon was last, and Olaf was complaining about Grit's laziness, which was probably why they were late. Was everyone was present, Sonja walked up to the podium on a stage opposite to the table. "Everyone's here, then," She said, counting off the CO's on a list. She switched on the microphone on the podium. "I suppose you're all wondering why I've called you here," She began. "Well, a few days ago my recon team in Orange Star's Lynx Desert picked up weird EM signals. I talked to Nell to get advice, and she said to keep investigating." At this, Nell nodded. Sonja picked up a remote from the podium. "There was nothing else for a few days, and then - this." She pressed a button on the remote, and stepped off the stage as a large video screen slid down from the ceiling. She pressed the 'play' button, and the screen played a recording of the red jets as they rippled out of nowhere and scattered. The screen slid back up into the ceiling and Sonja stepped up behind the podium again.

There was a silence in the room. Everyone was staring at Sonja, who put down the remote and continued. "Those jets were red, as you saw, and they are unlike any of Cosmo Land's countries. It's logical to assume that this is a new country we're dealing with." Andy had put down his book, and looked confused. Nothing unusual there. "How did they just appear like that?" He asked. "I think - or, to be more precise, my team and I think this is some kind of invisibility technology, seeing as they scattered and retreated as soon as they appeared. But that's not all we've got. We also intercepted a transmission soon after." She pushed another button on the remote, and a recording started to play. A male voice said, "Swift. you were seen. What happened?" A female voice replied. "We flew straight into residual charges left by the initial shrouding surge," She said. "Our shrouds deactivated." There was a clicking of what sounded like computer keys in the background. "Dammit," muttered the male. "I'm running a search for all possible defects in the shrouders. Knowing Sonja, she'll call a conference, so I don't want any more shrouds failing...tell Cougar and Diesel to meet me in the C&C room. You come too." There was a silence, and the female finally said "Shade, is this transmission secure?" There was another silence, and then the male gasped. "End transmission. Now." He said, his voice sharp. The recording ended.

Sonja looked at the other CO's, and finally said "Whoever these people are, they pose a possible threat to us. What is our course of action?" President Shawnson broke the silence. "Orange Star are to retake that land. That is our land, and they are...trespassing." A look of realisation appeared on Olaf's face, hen suddenly disappeared. Then he smiled. "If you want, we'll offer assistance," he said. The President nodded. "Any help would be appreciated." Eagle spoke up. "This new country doesn't pose a threat to us, so we'll be taking our leave." Kanbei got up from his seat. "This country does not threaten Yellow Comet either, so we'll be leaving too. Come Sonja!" The conference broke up as he various countries left, leaving Olaf, Grit and Colin behind. "Say Boss, why'd ya want ta help Orange Star anyways? They can this on their own," Grit said. Olaf grinned evilly. "AS soon as Orange Star has taken care of this new country, I'll seize the land for Blue Moon!" Olaf strode out laughing. Grit turned to Colin. "I think ol' Frosty

has gone to far this time," he said. "Colin, keep an eye on 'im for me. If he does take that land, tell the other countries right away. he's gone and gotten land mania again..." Colin saluted him. " Yes, Sir!" He said as they both walked out after the laughing Olaf.

Location: Command and Communications Room, Red Mesa HQ, Red Mesa.

Time: 0800 Hours OS Time, the next day.

Shade was watching and waiting, waiting for the inevitable to happen. He already knew of the Co Conference, and had reasoned, quite shrewdly, that Orange Star would invade to retake their land. It was that, or he had developed advances paranoia. He constantly cycled through all of the external surveillance cameras, determined to find an Orange Star attack before they reached the mesas. Swift came in, yawning slightly, and stopped when she saw Shade. "Shade, how long have you been here?" She asked softly. Shade didn't turn his eyes from the screen, but replied "Roughly four hours. I'm getting paranoid about a surprise Orange Star attack." Swift walked over and sat down on a chair next to him, and hung her head. "Shade, I'm sorry. I blew completely for us. I've taken your only driving force - your only purpose in life away from you." Shade looked at her. "Sarah, don't bother apologising, we can't avoid the inevitable. They were going to find us sooner or later." Swift nodded sadly, and when she spoke, her voice was shaking. "But what if the other countries ally with them? We'll be crushed!" She started to cry silently. "And it'll all be my fault..." She buried her face in her arms, crying. Shade sighed and put a comforting arm around her. "It won't come to that, Sarah," He said soothingly. "And if somehow it does, at least we'll die fighting. We will never give up, and we will give them hell. And I have another purpose in life." Swift looked up at him, still crying. "What?" She said, voice shaky. "To-" 

Shade was cut off as an alarm came from the computer he was using. He whirled around to look at it. "Orange Star," He said. "So it's begun..." He looked at the advancing orange units. "Go and assemble a small attack force," he said to Swift. "I'll show them that size and power is no guarantee of victory." Swift nodded and sprinted out of them room. Shade smirked as he rose from his chair and left the room. "Whatever the outcome, I'll make sure tomorrow is a red dawn..."

Location: Border of the Lynx Desert, Orange Star.

Time: 1200 Hours OS Time.

Nell sighed sadly as she sat down next to Sami. Orange Star had advanced to the border of the Lynx Desert, set up a HQ, and taken control of some bases and cities. They were poised to attack this new country, and all they had to do now was wait. Hell looked at the other Orange Star CO's. Sami was gazing sadly out of the window, and Andy and Max were having a staring contest, Max's face a grimace as his eyes began to sting. "What's the matter?" She asked Sami. "It's this new country," She said, still looking out the window. "Even though it's our land, they're not being aggressive. And if it comes to war, we'll still be killing innocent people..." Nell nodded. "I wish we could just negotiate..." Unexpectedly, Andy gave a surprised yell and dashed to the computers behind Max. "We've got hostiles!" He said. The other CO's ran to join him and saw a line of red dots on the screen. "They're setting up a HQ..." Said Nell. "And they're taking cities and bases," said Max. "Shall I command?" Nell nodded. "If we have to fight, the it's yours, Max." A beeping came from Andy's computer. "Incoming transmission," Said Andy, pressing buttons. 

Shade appeared on the main comm screen. wearing his red-tinted shades and black, red-rimmed trench coat. "You!" Said Nell. Shade smiled coldly, switching to his 'evil genius' persona. "It's nice to se you in person Nell." He said. Max stepped up to the screen. "Who are you, and what country are you from?" He asked Shade, who folded his arms. "Commanding Officer Shade of Red Mesa," Shade drawled. "You're Max of Orange Star. Your strength is your direct combat, your weakness you indirect. Both your CO Powers bolster your direct units' attack power and movement range." Max blinked, stunned that this new CO knew so much about him. Shade smirked and continued. "I will warn you now: when you fight me, expect the unexpected. I will be able to pull your strings and make you walk right into my traps. Goodbye." And with that warning, Shade disappeared from the screen. Nell was the first to speak after a long silence. "Max, do me a favour and beat him into the ground, will you?" Max nodded grumpily. "He's going down..." He grumbled.

Battle 1: Red Dawn.

CO's: Shade (RM) vs. Max (OS).

Special Conditions: Fog of War.

Location: Border of Lynx Desert, Orange Star.

Time: 1300 Hours OS Time.

After Shade's foreboding warning, Max had acted very cautiously and moved his column of tanks and artillery from forest to forest, anticipating a sneak attack. As he passed through a narrow rocky pass between the HQ's he started to get really worried. In front of his units was a shimmering heat haze, rippling and warping the air. Shade then appeared on Orange Star's comm screen again, and said "I've seen you've found my shrouded units. Good luck trying to beat them unless I want you to." He disappeared from the screen, and a line of red Mid. Tanks rippled into view out of thin air, and started to rip apart Max's startled forces. "It's that invisibility Sonja talked about!" Sami yelled as nearly all of Max's column was destroyed, and the rest pulled back.

Shade had made a good start on the opening day of the battle, but in the next two days Max launched a major offensive, his forces rolling out of the bases he had captured. He used what was left of his artillery to get a rough idea where Shade's units were, and then sending his tanks into the area, taking little losses. Shade defended nonstop for the next two days, even living through a Max Force by sheer luck (Max's powered-up tanks rolled right into a decoy force of recons).

The two forces were at a stalemate, both vying for control of the rocky pass, their lines never moving by more than a few feet. Shade had had enough, and turned to Swift, who was sitting next to him. "Is the Viper Team ready?" Swift nodded. The Viper Team was Red Mesa's Special Forces, highly trained in all forms of combat. "They're in the APC and ready to roll." Shade smiled coldly. "Good. It's time we ended this. My CO Power is charged...but that won't be enough. I need my Super." Swift watched as he ordered his forces to pull back slightly, baiting Max's juggernaut of tanks. "What are you planning?" She asked. "I'm luring them out of two day's worth movement range of their HQ, but I need to take damage to get my Super Power." He said, smirking as Max fell for his plan. An understanding smile appeared on Swift's face. "I get you loud and clear." She said.

Day 8 of the battle, and Shade was taking heavy damage from Max's forces, as he sneaked the Viper Team in their APC round the pass. He left the APC right next to the Orange Star HQ, and was poised to take out Orange Star in one brutal move. As Shade's decoy force took more and more damage, Shade felt his CO Power level rising more and more, his skin tingling from it's effect. His Super was fully charged, and he sighed. Shade didn't want to do this, but... he reappeared on the Orange Star HQ's comm screen. "I've been leading you along all this time Max! EMP STRIKE!" The Orange Star CO's watched in awe, and Shade watched with grim satisfaction, as a sphere of glowing electrical energy exploded out from the centre of the battlefield. A shocked Max watched as his units were completely disabled, while Shade's units were unaffected. Shade leant forward in his chair. "That's EMP Strike, my Super Power," he said. " Now watch as I end all this so quickly you'll be amazed."

The Red Mesa APC full of Viper Team members, stormed the HQ and seized it before Max could reach it with his forces. The Orange Star CO's, the HQ's staff and techs were all taken prisoner after Max's forces surrendered, and were held in the HQ until Shade, accompanied by the other Red Mesa CO's arrived. As Shade walked into their holding cell, Sami looked up and said "How did you do that? We were stormed before we could react!" Shade took off his shades and put them in his pocket, and sat down opposite from the CO's. "Quite simple really. I knew that Max would be too much to handle at this early stage, so I used my forces as a decoy as I sent my Viper Team in a APC round that rocky pass. I deliberately took enough damage to use my Super Power, and you can guess the rest." Nell glared at Shade. "Who are these people then?" She asked Shade, gesturing to the other Red Mesa CO's. "This is Swift," Shade said, pointing at her. "This is Cougar, and that is Diesel," He continued, pointing to the other two in turn. He turned to the soldiers guarding the cell. "Let them go."

The Orange Star CO's were shocked. "You're just letting us go?" Said Andy. Shade smiled slightly. "You're good commanders, but you just didn't know what to expect. I'm sure we'll meet again though..." Shade and the other CO's left, taking their forces back to Red Mesa with them. Nell, Max, Sami and Andy boarded a T Copter left for them, discussing their course of action, as they were flew back to Orange Star. Shade, Swift, Cougar and Diesel were greeted to a raucous party in the Red Mesa C&C room as they came back. Cougar and Diesel started a conga line, but Shade and Swift sat down next to each other. "What do you think they'll do now?" Swift asked, looking at Shade's preoccupied face. Shade was silent. "They'll try again, I'm sure of it," He muttered. "We won't last long if Deck 16 doesn't get the Heavy Tank finished. And what are Lambada Zone doing? We need the final parts and reactors for the Red Zephyr before we can get it in the air." Swift nodded, looking around at the partying soldiers, officers, and Diesel and Cougar, who was having an arm wrestling contest with a tech. And losing. Badly. "Deck 16 will have the Heavy Tank ready for probably the third battle with Orange Star, maybe sooner. And Lambada Zone are currently ironing out the flaws in the Event Horizon." Shade sighed. "So the Red Zephyr won't be finished anytime soon." Swift shook her head, and Shade sighed again. "I'm going to bed. Catch ya later." Shade said his goodbyes to the partiers and headed off to his quarters, while Swift walked off to hers. _Let's just hope we can get through this alive_, she thought.

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End of Chapter 3

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Author Note: Third Chapter, and a victory for Red Mesa!

Shade: W00T! PARTAY!

Shade, go throw a party somewhere else, will ya?

Shade: It's not a party, it's a PARTAY!

Whatever. Go and 'partay' somewhere else.

Shade: *Grumbles and walks off*

Now that he's gone...in Chapter 4, Black Hole start to ready their forces for the impending invasion, and Cougar takes on Sami in a heated battle for a vital property!


	4. Gathering Darkness

Author Note: It's Chapter 4! Hawke prepares for his invasion, and Cougar takes on Sami AND Grit in a battle for a Red Mesa lab!

Shade: Is this where I interfere and annoy you?

...Idiot.

Disclaimer: Advance Wars, Advance Wars 2, and their content are copyright Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. Red Mesa and its CO's are belong to us. You have no chance to survive make your time etc...

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Advance Wars: Red Mesa – Chapter 4: Gathering Darkness.

By CO Shade.

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Location: Hawke's Office, Black Hole HQ, Black Hole.

Time: 0900 Hours BH Time.

Hawke sipped from a smuggled mug of coffee as he stood on the balcony on the top floor of his HQ. He gazed over the massed ranks of infantry, tanks, artillery, and other assorted units preparing for the invasion, stroking his chin as he did so. He and Lash had put their heads together and devised a new strategy for the war: Black Hole would take a region of a country, stabilise it, absorb it's economy and move on, strengthened, until the entire country was overwhelmed. They would then put it into practice on a larger scale, taking over another country and repeating the process. His first target would be Orange Star. Removing the biggest threat seemed logical, but he'd have to make sure there were no errors. Especially letting Flak handle that part of the war on his own...Hawke shuddered and nearly spilt his coffee. Letting Flak handle Orange Star was Sturm's eventual undoing in the last war, but Hawke vowed never to let Flak handle scissors without supervision, let alone an army.

There was a knock at Hawke's office door, immediately followed by the sound of it opening. Hawke span around to see the gangly Adder closing the door, his back turned to him. Hawke hid his mug of coffee behind his back: Adder had gone to great lengths to make sure he didn't break the no-caffeine rule. Adder was carrying a red folder, which, to Hawke's relief, he dropped halfway across the room as he walked to Hawke on the balcony. As he bent over to pick them up, Hawke, desperate for a way out and thinking quickly, hurled his coffee mug off the balcony. Adder joined him on the balcony just as a crash of breaking china emanated from the ground below. "What was that?" Asked Adder, leaning over the balcony's railings to look. Hawke resisted the urge to throw him off as well. Just. "No idea," Replied Hawke, leaning against the railings lazily. "What is the latest report on the preparation for Operation Singularity?"

Operation Singularity was the name for the newest Black Hole invasion, the latest report on which was in the folder in Adder's pale hands. The Adder in question opened the folder and handed a sheet of paper to his superior. "On schedule," He said, the weak sunlight hitting the balcony through the clouds making him look even whiter than usual. "We will be ready in two weeks." Hawke nodded absently, and gave the sheet back to Adder. "Good," He mused. "Lash has the missile platform on schedule, I suppose?" Adder gave a smile, making him look freakier than ever. "Lash would be throwing fits if it wasn't. I have to say I am stunned by it's sheer simplicity." Hawke nodded absently. "Why waste fuel on propelling a missile all the way to a target, fighting gravity and air resistance, when it can be launched from high orbit?" Adder was just about to open his mouth to agree when he remembered what else he had come here for. He rifled through his folder, taking out a several sheets of paper and a few photos. "There is something else, sir," He said. Hawke took the paper and photos from him. "Thanks to Lash, we now know that there is a new country that has recently come into conflict with Orange Star. She intercepted some Orange Star transmissions." Hawke leafed through the sheets in his hands. "Hrrm...Red Mesa...cloaking technology? Intriguing...they won? This is an excellent turn of events. Orange Star and Blue Moon will be busy fighting a two-front war...this works to our advantage." He gave the sheets and photos back to Adder, who slid them back into his folder. "Just stay on schedule. If we play our cards right, we will not fail." Adder nodded and smiled nastily as he left the room.

Out in the corridor, Adder's face turned sour. "'Stay on schedule'...'Play our cards right'...who is he to boss us around? Just because he got to Sturm before we did..." He muttered. "Hawke has it coming to him..."

Location: Command & Communications Room, Orange Star HQ, Orange Star.

Time: 1330 Hours OS Time, four days later.

Nell, Max, Sami and Andy were seated round a table in the C&C room, discussing where they should strike Red Mesa next, and what strategies to use. "I say we strike right into the heart of their country," Max said. "Nail 'em in their most valuable area." Nell shook her head. "We don't know where the heart of Red Mesa lies..." Andy, who for once was not wearing an expression of deep confusion, piped up. "Well, it's called Red Mesa, so logically they should be near the desert mesas!" Nell was stunned, partly, because that was so obvious, and partly because Andy was the first to realise it. "How come I never thought of that?" She said. Sami frowned. "That Shade guy saw us coming last time. And where near the mesas are they?"

"No idea," Nell replied. "And look what Shade did to us last time," Max grumbled. "We could walk right into a trap before we even got close." The other CO's nodded. "Shade is incredibly smart, it seems," Said Nell. "Then again, I should know, I used to play against him on that RTS game we have..." The other CO's jaws dropped in unison. "What?" Said Sami. "I didn't know who he was though," Nell replied. "That's why I was so shocked when he appeared on the screen." The others relaxed, and Max said "But so far, we've only encountered Shade. I wonder how good the other Red Mesa CO's are?" Nell got up from the table. "We'll see soon enough," She said, crossing the room to a line of computers on the other side. "We're getting a transmission from Grit, Level 2 one...he's found something!" 

The others rushed to join her and crowded around the screen. Grit's face looked back at them. "Howdy y'all, how ya doin'?" He asked. Nell sighed. "Bad," She said. "Max got beaten badly in a battle with a Red Mesa CO called Shade." Grit nodded. "Heard about that," He said. "All of mine and Sonja's reports add up to the same thing: that he's a tough cookie, both to figure out and to fight." Max nodded grumpily. "I got somethin' that'll cheer y'all up," Grit continued. "I've gone an' found what looks like a Red Mesa secret lab." Looking at their worried faces, Grit chuckled. "It's not Shade," He said, popping a cigarette into his mouth and lighting it. "His units are always invisible, and the forces in that area aren't." Sami spoke up. "It's another CO?" Grit nodded. "That's all we can figure out," He said. "Sonja's trying to find out more, but the Reds are a secretive bunch." Right on cue, another voice spoke. "Of course we are! We've always been secretive!"

There was silence from both Grit and the Orange Star CO's as another transmission window opened on their screens. A rough-looking CO appeared, running a hand through his wild browny-grey hair in a futile attempt to tame it. Grit, as well as all the others, was wide-eyed. "Who-" He began. "Am I?" The newcomer cut across him. "The name's Cougar, one of Red Mesas most powerful CO's, third in command to Shade." Nell, unlike her fellow CO's, was unfazed. "Yeah, yeah, I'm not impressed by your boasting. I'm guessing those forces and that lab are under your control?" Cougar nodded. "You're a smart one. You want me to get to the point dontcha? Okay...I'm issuing a challenge. If either Blue Moon or Orange Star can capture that lab in ten days, you keep it, and I will pull back all the forces in this area." Grit chewed on his cigarette. "I'm game for it," He drawled. Sami smiled somewhat coldly. "I'm the best at capturing, so I'll go." Cougar chuckled roughly. "Just remember, there are no bases in that area, so when your infantry and mechs go boom, don't run crying to you momma." Grit took the cigarette out of his mouth and threw it into a nearby bin. "Don't ya mean _if_ our infantry and mechs go boom?" Cougar shook his head. "They will go boom, trust me." He disappeared from the screen and Nell got up from the chair to let Sami talk to Grit. "Set up separate HQ's, and take some cities each," She said. "Guess we'll just have to work with what we have near that area."

Battle 1: Cougar's Challenge.

CO's: Cougar (RM) vs. Sami (OS) and Grit (BM).

Special Conditions: Victory for OS and BM if they capture the lab within 10 days.

Location: Grassland just inside Red Mesa border.

Time: 0700 Hours OS Time, the next day.

On Day 1, the combined forces of Orange Star and Blue Moon, under the command of Sami and Grit respectively, advanced quickly into the area and set up HQ's, capturing a few cities each along the way. Sami advanced her forces (consisting of two infantry and mech units, three tank units, one Md. tank unit and one artillery unit) along a winding road that swung north and looped back down to the lab. Grit's forces (four artillery, two rockets and two tanks) started to advance toward strategic points around the lab. Sami was poised to swing down south and attack on the next day, leaving Grit to provide cover. Cougar had meanwhile moved all his direct-combat forces (four tanks, three Md. tanks, two mech and two infantry units) to surround that lab, while his indirect units (three artillery, two rockets and one new, weird looking unit) covered Grit's units. Shade sent a transmission from Red Mesa to Cougar. "Don't foul this up Cougar," He warned. "Look after that new EMP Bombardier," He said, pointing to the new unit, which looked like an artillery unit. But where the end of the barrel should be, there was a dish like a satellite dish. "And look after the lab. It contains some of the last few reactors for the Red Zephyr, and the stasis capacitor for the Event Horizon." Cougar drummed his fingers impatiently. "Yeah, yeah," He growled. "It'll be a breeze." Shade didn't look convinced, but he terminated the link.

Sunrise on day two of the battle, and the front two tank divisions of Sami's forces launched forward and engaged one of Cougar's Md. tank, dealing it heavy damage, despite it being in a Red Mesa-owned city. The rest of her forces were brought down from the north ready to engage on the third day. Grit was still out of range of Cougar's units, but edged his units forward to provide cover for Sami. Cougar defended well, bringing the new EMP Bombardier forward to disable Grit's units the next day.

Over the next three days Cougar suffered a lot of losses, losing three tank divisions, two Md. tank divisions, both infantry divisions and one mech division. His indirect divisions were not hit strongly, and were stationed in cities, so did not suffer any overall damage. His EMP Bombardier disabled all of Grit's unit's within a certain radius, saving Cougar's hide more than once. Grit lost three of his artillery units and both tank units, while Sami lost her infantry (to her great disappointment), Md. tank and artillery, left with only her two mech units. But on the sixth day, against all odds (and with Grit's help and a Snipe Attack) she managed to start capturing the lab. The next day though, before Sami could do anything, Cougar decided he had had enough. He sent a transmission to both Sami and Grit, and gave his trademark rough chuckle. "It's time I finished this! Surgical Strike!"

And Sami's mech exploded.

When the dust cleared, there was nothing left of the mech division but a crater. Cougar's forces quickly mopped up, ripping apart Sami's remaining mech. With no units left, and having just faced Cougar's Super CO Power, Sami surrendered. She sent a transmission to both Grit and Cougar, her face showing the exhaustion the other two had as well. "Grit, I think we can safely say it's time to retreat. Cougar's won here, and he deserves his win. And a rest." Cougar raised his eyebrows, surprised, and said "Thanks for the compliment. I think everybody concerned needs a rest. I'll see ya around...huh?" Shade appeared on everyone's screens, with flashing red lights in the background. "Cougar. Where's Swift?" Cougar looked annoyed. "No celebration for my victory?" Shade's eyes narrowed and he spoke very coldly, making him seem infinitely more dangerous than Sami or Grit had ever seen him. "There's no time or need for a celebration now, the ShadowSat has just picked up very interesting activity. I need Swift to deploy the Archangels in Sector BH. Now." Cougar went very pale very suddenly, and Shade nodded grimly. "Well? Where is she?" Cougar's fingers flew across his keyboard, typing furiously. "Looks like she's gearing up to defend Red Point." Sami interrupted the conversation before she and Grit were totally ignored. "What are you talking about?" Shade sighed sadly. "I think you'll see soon enough. Cougar, you know what to do." The Cougar in question nodded an affirmative, still looking fearful. "See ya," He managed to say, and cut his transmission.

Now that he was alone, Shade looked at Sami and Grit. "Red Mesa's patience is waning," he said darkly. "You may have the superior numbers overall, but we have superior technology. We're on the verge of devices and weapons so advanced, that they will make you realise you're in over your heads." With that, Shade disappeared. "I think we can say he is lying," Grit said. "Sonja and myself haven't seen anythin' ridiculously advanced trying to blast us off the planet. See ya soon." Grit disappeared, leaving Sami to report to the other Orange Star CO's on what had happened. "What's so scary that it made the Cougar guy get afraid? Every answer we get throws up more questions..."

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End of Chapter 4

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Author Note: Fourth Chapter done and dusted, and Red Mesa seems to be unstoppable!

Shade: We've only won two battles, ya know.

Yes, but they are the only battles you've fought!

Shade: Then go write another one.

Jerk. In Chapter 5, Black Hole's invasion begins, and Diesel faces off against Andy in a massive OS offensive against one of Red Mesa's key mesas! Oh, and we see the debut of the RM Heavy tank...

Shade: Developed by Red Mesa's Deck 16, AKA Damage Incorporated!

Super-Special Question: What is Hawke's war tactic known as in real life? Answers in your reviews, but no prize for the winner other than a smug sense of self-satisfaction and praise from me.


	5. Black Tide

Author Note: Gah...Stupid GCSE mock revision...getting in way of writing. Chapter 5, requesting permission to read! Black Hole has invaded Orange Star while they're still fighting Red Mesa, and Diesel shows off the Heavy Tank!

Shade: All I can say about the Heavy Tank is, 'Ouch'.

Yes, ouch indeed. Oh and, to answer the question from last time, Hawke's war tactic is better known a Blitzkrieg, AKA 'Lighting War'.

Disclaimer: Advance Wars, Advance Wars 2, and their content are copyright Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. Red Mesa and its CO's are my intellectual property. Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine...

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Advance Wars: Red Mesa – Chapter 5: Black Tide.

By CO Shade.

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Location: Black Hole Field HQ, Orange Star.

Time: 2000 Hours OS Time.

"We've had no reports of heavy Orange Star resistance."

"Good. Lash?"

"The missile platform will be ready for launch in a 10 days."

Hawke, Lash, Adder and Flak were discussing their Orange Star invasion, which had so far been a total success. Hawke leant back in his chair and steepled his fingers together. "Good. Our next course of action is to envelop the Orange Star Army. Between Red Mesa and us, they'll be crushed." His fellow CO's nodded in agreement, with the exception of Flak, who was busy looking gormless. Hawke coughed loudly, trying to attract his attention. Flak snapped back to reality somewhat, and Hawke continued. "Adder, you concentrate on securing the north." Adder nodded, and said "I will crush them like insects beneath my feet." Hawke smirked. "That's the sort of attitude I like. Lash, you advance to the south and cut them off from Blue Moon." Hawke then looked at Flak. "Flak? You just make sure there's no resistance in captured territory. Can you handle that?" Flak thought about it (which in itself was a great achievement for him), and nodded an affirmative. "Yeah...I can handle it. I'll...crush 'em." Hawke rolled his eyes and sighed. "Right. Now we can-yes?" Hawke looked at Lash, who had just raised her hand.

"I was wondering what we'd do with Red Mesa if we take over Orange Star," She said. "Their technology would be a great new benefit. I could make some new toys!" Hawke looked thoughtful. "We'll ask them to join us," He said. "And if they don't...we will force them to." Satisfied, Lash nodded. Hawke got up from his seat. "I think that's everything covered," he said. "Just remember: we've only taken a small part of Orange Star, and even then, it's only because they're busy with Red Mesa. So don't get complacent. They could decide to forget about the Reds and turn on us." Hawke walked to the door of the room, and turned back to the other CO's, who were collecting their various papers to leave. "I'll see you all in the Orange Star capital."

Location: Conference Room, Orange Star HQ, Orange Star.

Time: 2000 Hours OS Time.

At the same time as the Black Hole CO's were discussing the war, Orange Star were doing the same. They had been taken completely by surprise when Black Hole had attacked, as they were focusing on Red Mesa, any resistance they could muster was inadequate to stop their advance. Nell was at the head of the conference table, with Sami on he left, and Max and Andy to her right. "Sami, Max," She said. "You gather anything and everything you can and try to stop the Black Hole advance." Sami and Max nodded, gathered their papers and left without a word, such was the seriousness of the situation. Nell then turned to Andy. "You and me will try to incapacitate Red Mesa, if only for a while, with a single blow. I will go to Red Point to take down their strong presence there." Andy looked confused. "What will that do to incata...incapica...stop them?" Nell rolled her eyes. Andy had the brains, but he just didn't try to use them. "The reason there is such a strong Red presence there is because it is their weakest link strategically. If I can remove them, that'll give you a clear shot at one of the mesas." Understanding slowly dawned on Andy's face. "Oh."

"Exactly," Nell said. "Intel shows that I'll be going up against Swift, the Red Mesa air-based CO. You'll be against Diesel, most probably. Sonja's found out that she's good with fuel-based units." Andy scratched his head. "Fuel-based units?" Nell shook her head, exasperated. "Basically all ground units, not including infantry or mechs, and aircraft. Most ships are powered by generators." Nell then stood up and collected her papers together. "Remember Andy; bring our superior manpower into play. The Reds might have the upper hand in technology, but they've been dealt a proverbial bad poker hand in numbers." She and Andy left the room, still discussing their offensive, and all was quiet in the room for a few seconds. 

Then, a black-and-red clad figure shimmered into view, gripping the ceiling with magnetic gloves and boots. It flipped off the ceiling and landed on it's hands and knees with a thud. It lifted the visor on a full-face helmet, revealing a dark-skinned male face. He took out a radio from his jacket and flipped it on. "Viper Leader, this is Viper Seven. I'm sending the recording now." A voice came out of the radio's speaker, crackly with static. "Roger Seven, we'll warp you out now. Stand up straight, remember: this prototype might do very nasty things if you don't." At this doom-laden instruction, Seven stood up as straight as possible. He flipped his visor back down and pocketed the radio. "This Event Horizon prototype is a godsend," He muttered to himself. "Instant insertion into an area hundreds of miles away, as well as other things..." A humming noise emanated for nowhere it seemed, or maybe it was from Seven himself. As it rose to a staticky whine, Seven's body was enveloped by a glowing reddish-white aura that expanded from his chest to cover his entire body. There was a flash of light, a sudden thumping boom, and Seven disappeared.

Location: C&C Room, Red Mesa HQ, Red Mesa.

Time: 2010 Hours OS Time, 5 Days later.

"You lost?"

"Yes. Nell beat me. She's lucky; I'll give her that."

"But our Viper Team spy told you that Nell was going to be your opponent. You should have prepared. And we wasted a prototype EH charge for that." Shade sighed as he waited for Swift's response. She was sitting next to him, having retreated back to the HQ after getting beaten at Red Point. Swift looked irritable, and finally said "You know where they're going to attack next." Shade nodded grimly, he knew very well what would happen. "Mesa 2." Mesa 2 was the second most important Mesa in the country; it's name being rather self-explanatory. It contained practically all the R&D bases Red Mesa had, and was where the Red Zephyr was being constructed. It was also home to the testing ground of the Event Horizon. "It's our weakest link strategically, and if they capture it, imagine all the technology we'd lose." Swift nodded in agreement. "R&D, Event Horizon, Red Zephyr, and the new Singularity Tank." She said, counting them off on her slender fingers. "That's a lot of tech." Shade was about to reply when an excited-looking tech rushed up to him. "Commander Shade, Sir! The Heavy Tank is ready for use!"

Shade's face twisted into what looked like cold glee. "Well, well, well," He said, chuckling. "Looks like Orange Star are going to have a bit of a nasty surprise." He glanced at Swift, who had a mischievous grin on her face. Turning back to the tech, he said "Send them into mass production immediately." The tech nodded, saluted, and scurried out. Swift smiled at Shade. "You just plain evil you know, with a slight glimmer of humour. But that's what makes you so cute!" Shade pretended to be flattered. "Oh, you're too kind!" He said, sounding like a female movie star, before they both cracked up laughing. After they had both stopped, he wiped a tear from his eye. "I needed that," He said. "We haven't had a lot to laugh about for a long time." Swift smiled, and said "Yeah." Shade ran a hand through his hair, not that it did anything anyway. "Diesel's gonna have the honour of using the Heavy Tanks," He said. "They're going to be even more powerful when she uses them." Swift got up from her chair. "We'll just have to wait and see," She said. "We're screwed, put simply, if they use their numbers against us." Shade grumbled. "Don't remind me." Swift started to leave the room, and was at the door when Shade spoke. "Oh, and Sarah?" He said, using Swift's real name. "Yeah?" She said.

"Thanks for the compliment." Swift smiled, and said "Which one? The evil one, or the cute one?" Shade smiled back. "The cute one. I take pride in my appearance." Swift laughed and left. Shade stood up soon after, and left to find Diesel.

Location: Diesel's Workshop, Red Mesa HQ, Red Mesa.

Time: 2020 Hours OS Time.

Shade found Diesel in her workshop. It was a large, disused room on the ground floor, with vehicle access, making it prefect for Diesel and her tinkering. Diesel herself was under the body of her newest toy, a custom-made Red Mesa Lightning Tank. It was sleek, eight-wheeled, and unlike most tanks, had no turret. Instead, the twin light cannons were mounted on each side of the sleek driver's cockpit, and its eight-wheel drive system let it spin on the spot incredibly fast. Altogether, it was a lightly armoured, fast tank, and Shade personally liked it. He walked up to the legs of Diesel, those being the only part of her he could see. He could hear her grumbling as she tinkered with something under the Tank. "Stupid...useless...eight-wheel reliability my ass..." Shade smiled typical Diesel. "Hey Peroxide!" He said. Diesel rolled out from under the Lightning Tank. "Not funny Shade!" She said. "And it's not even pure blonde right now!" She had a point. Her hair was stained with oil, as was the rest of her. She stood up and brandished a nasty-looking mechanic tool at him. "What do you want? If it's to joke about my hair or my supposed lack of intelligence, you can sell it online for all I care."

Shade had to smile. Diesel and him had always sparred with each other verbally, him calling her a dumb, vacant blonde, and her calling him a self-obsessed egomaniac. He coughed and said "Well, the Heavy Tank is ready for use, and I want you to defend Mesa 2. Two and two make four." At this, Diesel's eyes lit up. "The Heavy Tank? Sure!" Shade smiled. "I thought as much. Just remember not to let yourself get outnumbered." Diesel nodded. "Sure, I'll steamroller them!" Shade smiled, said " That's the spirit," and left. Once out in the corridor, he grinned. "Orange Star are gonna have it taken to them big time," He said. Then he looked thoughtful. "But they're having trouble with Black Hole. Maybe when the Red Zephyr is finished we'll help them."

Battle 3: March to the Mesa.

CO's: Diesel (RM) vs. Andy (OS).

Special Conditions: None.

Location: Near Mesa 2, Red Mesa Territory.

Time: 1100 Hours OS Time, 2 days later.

Andy's forces, consisting of everything he could pull together, had taken control of and fortified an area in the desert, in clear view of Mesa 2. Andy drank from a bottle of chilled water as he saw his divisions get into position, his eyes flitting back and forth between them and the looming mass of rock that was Mesa 2. "It's too hot here!" He whined to no one in particular. "Maybe I should go sit in the staff canteen freezer..." A tech interrupted his train of thought. "Commander Andy, Sir. Incoming transmission from Red Mesa." Andy set down his bottle on the nearby table and said "Put it up on the main screen." A short, blonde-haired woman appeared on the screen, sitting back in her chair, hands steepled together. In an instant, her expression changed from one of calm to mild surprise. "Andy? I'm fighting you?" She looked to her right. "Shade! Not fair!" She called off to the side. Shade rolled into view on a wheeled chair. "Well, would you have fought him if I had told you?" He asked. She shook her head. "Well, there's your answer Diesel," Shade said, and he rolled back off screen. Diesel glared at him and muttered, "Jerk." She turned back to Andy. "Wouldn't you agree?" Andy looked confused. "Why do you want my opinion?"

"To annoy Shade and get revenge." From off screen an irate Shade said, "Stop trying to get everybody to gang up on me!" Diesel looked in his direction, then back at Andy. "Excuse me Andy, someone needs to be taught how to shut up. I'll see you on the battlefield." She grabbed a wrench and walked off to the side, with the surprised, fearful cry of Shade cut short as the transmission ended. Andy looked thoughtful. A change from the norm. "She's a mechanic too? Wonder what her units are like..."

The Orange Star and Red Mesa forces clashed just half a kilometre away from Mesa 2. Diesel's fuel-powered units were considerably more powerful than Andy's, and were crushing all opposition. Then, Andy threw his production into top gear, swamping Diesel's forces with masses of Tanks. Both armies were deadlocked, with Diesel ripping through Andy's forces just as quickly as he could make them. Diesel tried to break the stalemate by using her Super Power, High Octane, and started to crawl forward, but Andy countered with a Hyper Upgrade. Finally, Diesel decided to bring her winning card into play. Andy was surveying the battlefield with binoculars when he spotted something emerging from a Red Mesa base. He quickly ordered his techs to get magnified pictures of it, which appeared on the large main screen. Everybody, including Andy, gasped. "What is that thing?" He said.

It was a Tank. More than just a Tank though. Four timed the size of a Md. Tank, it had two sets of tracks on each side, what looked like four engines to power each track, and a massive turret, armed with two wide-bore long cannons. After he had recovered from the sheer shock of it, he sent a transmission to Diesel. Diesel had a cocky grin on her face. "So you've spotted the Heavy Tank, then?" She asked. Andy nodded. "Just how the heck can that thing even be built?" Diesel paused for a second. "No idea. Ask our Deck 16 R&D facility, they designed the behemoth. But the best thing about the Heavy Tank is this," She said. "Watch!" Andy looked on as the unit of Heavy Tanks engaged two of his Tank units. "It's outnumbered," He said. Diesel had a knowing smile on her face as the Heavy Tanks let rip with one of their twin cannons. Where there was a Tank division now lay a smoking crater, and the ground shook from the sheer power of the barrage. Andy ordered the remaining Tank unit to attack, but it was under the belief that the Heavy Tanks had used up their shots. His Tanks charged right into a salvo of Heavy Tank cannon shot from their remaining cannons. Diesel laughed and clapped her hands together. "They have two cannons, so they can fire twice!" She said between laughs. "Genius!"

However effective the Heavy Tanks were, there wasn't enough of them to stop the tide of advancing enemy Tanks. Over the next few days, Diesel was pushed back, right up to the brink of defeat. As Andy was going to go for the final push, Nell contacted him, with Olaf standing next to her. "Lash just crushed Max and Sami!" She cried. "Retreat! We need your help!" Andy was wide-eyed, and was so surprised that he didn't notice Olaf's face twist into a cold smile. "Black Hole won? Sure, I'll retreat." Nell nodded and cut the transmission. Andy then contacted Diesel. "You win, I have to go and help the others fight Black Hole," He said. Before Diesel could say anything, Shade walked onscreen. "How much have they advanced?" He asked quietly. Andy looked at a sheet of paper on a table next to him. "They have the entire northern area if Orange Star, according to today's report." Shade looked grim. "Damn," He said. "Well, Andy...good luck." Diesel nodded, looking very concerned. "Yeah," She said softly. "Good luck." Andy sighed, smiled sadly, cut the transmission and ordered his forces to retreat.

At the Orange Star HQ, Olaf was talking to Grit and Colin. "Orange Star have retreated from Red Mesa," He said, barely able to contain his glee. "Get ready for a massive attack on them soon." Grit scratched his head, his hat lying on a table next to him. "Why, Boss?" He said. "That Heavy Tank sure looks dangerous. It could'a torn through my units like tissue paper." Olaf frowned. "I said a massive attack. If we can overwhelm them like that Andy did today, we can win!" Olaf gave his classic maniacal laugh and left for the Blue Moon Field HQ. Grit looked at Colin. "He's out of his mind," He said. "Now that I've gone an' seen that Heavy Tank, I'm startin' to think Shade was telling the truth." Colin looked up at him. "What did he say, Commander Grit?" Grit sighed. "He said they were on the verge of weapons so advanced, that...I forget the rest. We'll just have to mosey out there and see what happens." He picked up his hat from the table and left the room, Colin running after him.

Meanwhile, Shade was running back to Red Mesa HQ at an astounding pace, Diesel just managing to tag along behind him. "When will the Red Zephyr be finished?" He asked. "A few weeks from now at the soonest," She replied. Shade's eyes narrowed as he did some calculations in his head. "Postpone all superweapon projects, save the Event Horizon, and divert their resources towards the Red Zephyr. We need it ready before your estimate, or Black Hole will be knocking our door before we can launch."

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End of Chapter 5

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Author Note: Well, that's Chapter 5 done with.

Shade: And what made you think I would help Orange Star?

I'm the AUTHOR. I don't have to make sense.

Shade: But this is a serious story! You can't do stuff like-

*Shade spontaneously turns into a purple spotted weasel*

You were saying? In Chapter 6, the Black Hole war machine marches on towards the Orange Star capital, while Olaf launches a massive surprise attack on Shade and Swift!


	6. Turning Point

Author Note: Alright, many of you disagreed with my definition of 'Blitzkrieg'. The fact is, it's all that you said, and my definition as well! And whoever thought a mesa was something to do with cliffs (can't remember your name), they are in fact large flat-topped rock formations with steep cliffs, common in America.

Also, from this chapter on you will notice the story getting darker. I am cutting out most of the humour to fit the storyline, but there will be dark humour here and there.

Disclaimer: Advance Wars, Advance Wars 2, and their content are copyright Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. Red Mesa and its CO's are my intellectual property. Heh, intellectual...I said a long word...

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Advance Wars: Red Mesa – Chapter 6: Turning Point.

By CO Shade.

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Location: Orange Star Capital City, Orange Star.

Time: 1345 Hours OS time.

Explosions and gunfire rent the air as Orange Star and Black Hole forces clashed in a heated battle for control of the city. Andy's men were getting tired after three days of no-holds-barred fighting, but they held a grim determination not to lose: this was their capital city, they were fighting to defend the entire country, their families, their way of life. The Black Hole forces fought ruthlessly and unemotionally, pushing towards the Presidential Building. president Shawnson, Nell, and Andy had retreated to a fortified bunker underneath the building, but it would be only a matter of time before the bunker itself was attacked. Andy paced back and forth, his happy demeanour gone, while Nell sat, head in hands, a picture of desperation. President Shawnson was dressed in his old military uniform (having hand a long CO career in the Army), medals and all, saying that "If I die today, I die as a Commander as well as a President." Techs were working away at computers dotted around the room, monitoring the entire battle and relaying orders. One of them spoke up unexpectedly. "Commanders! We just received a transmission from an unknown location!" Andy, Nell and the President rushed to join him. On the screen was a short message; "Hold on." Below was a strange logo. "Analysis of the logo has revealed it to be Red Mesan in origin," The tech said. "Hold on?" The President questioned. "Hold on for what?" Nell ran a hand through her messy hair. "More to the point, why would Red Mesa contact us when we attacked them?" No one had an answer.

As the fighting in the city grew ever more intense, barrage after barrage of fire echoing around the wrecked streets, Orange Star began to be pushed back into a defensive position around the Presidential Building. Black Hole attacked with mounting ferocity, and it seemed that Orange Star would only last one more day. Indeed, on the frosty dawn of the following day there were only a few weakened Orange Star units left, facing rank upon rank upon rank of Black Hole forces. All was quiet in the city, and everyone in the bunker held their breath. Then, with an eerily dangerous silence, the Blacks started to close in on the doomed building. Nell, Andy and President Shawnson were pale and exhausted, finally coming to terms with their defeat. "Orange Star as a country is done for," The President said quietly. "Without the capital...the country will crumble." One of the techs ran up to the saddened group. "Commanders! A Red Mesan jet is on an intercept course!" He said. The President waved a hand. "Onscreen." A red jet screamed overhead on the display, ejecting something attached to it's undercarriage. "Whatever that is, track it," Nell said. The view on the screen zoomed in on the falling object as it hit the ground in front of the approaching Black Hole forces. "It looks like some sort of receiver..." Andy said. The object, resembling a red glass satellite dish, started to glow with a red/white light. Intercepted Red Mesa transmissions came out of the screen's speakers, the speech mingling with loud static. "Getting read for...Twist," Someone said. "Affirmative. Level Omega...detected...normal parameters. Stand...for Event...Charge, in three...one..."

The Orange Star CO's, The President and the techs looked on in awe as the entire Black Hole juggernaut of a force was enveloped by a red-white aura. A staticky whine echoed from the confused Black Hole forces, and the receiver object pulsed with one final light, then flickered out. The, with a flash and a thumping boom, the entire Black Hole force disappeared. There was silence, both from the last few Orange Star units and everyone in the bunker, for more than a minute. Andy was the first one to speak. "Woah," He said, winning the prize for 'The World's Biggest Understatement'. "What did Red Mesa jsut do?" Nell looked at him. "Whatever they did, it just took out that entire force. And Hawke threw a fifth of the entire Black Hole Army at the capital. They just took out nearly a fifth of the Black Hole Army!" The President waved a hand "Who really cares right now? We'll thank them after we clear out Black Hole from this region."

Location: Command & Communications Room, Red Mesa HQ, Red Mesa.

Time: 1100 Hours OS Time, just after the Orange Star victory.

The Red Mesa CO's were sitting down at the Red Table, watching a recording of the Orange Star Capital City battle. All of them watched silently, right up to the point of the disappearance of the Black Hole force. Shade switched off the recording with a remote in his hand, and turned to the others. "Well? What did you think?" He said. Cougar scratched his head. "What in the name of Red Mesa did that do?" Shade smiled. Long-winded and complicated explanation time. "It's what our scientists have dubbed a 'Causality Twist'. It utilizes a different type of Event Horizon warp. What is basically does is send selected targets near an operational transmitter into a paradox loop. The Universe resolves this violation of the laws of physics by making the effect of the target's existence eliminate the effect of the cause of the target. In short, a target's effect eliminates it's own cause, which means that the target is erased from existence."

This explanation made a slight whistling noise as it sailed clear over the other CO's heads. Shade sensed this, and sighed. "Basically, this function of the Event Horizon erases a target from existence. In Flak terms, 'Unit goes bye-bye'." Swift smiled. "And you know this how?" She asked. Shade rolled his eyes. " Our R&D scientists told me. I can understand it because I read science journals, got an A* in Theoretical Physics in University, and because I'm that damn good." Diesel smirked slightly. "Science journals?" Shade looked at her, his face holding a warning look. "If I hear the words 'geek' or 'nerd' escape you lips, the doctors at the hospital won't know which piece of you to put on life support. I haven't forgot about you attacking me with that tool before you fought Andy." Cougar waggled a finger at the brewing argument. "Now now, girls and boys...and Shade." There was a five-second silence as Shade ran through what Cougar had just said. "HEY!" He shouted, and everyone broke into laughter, Shade included. "Wait," Said Cougar, lifting up a hand. "What would happen if the Event Horizon malfunctioned?" Shade thought about it for a moment, his brow creased with thought. "By theory - by _theory_, mind you - anything." He said at last.

"Anything?"

"Anything. We could be wiped from existence, the planet could turn into congealed semolina, Flak's IQ could rise." Swift shook her head in mock seriousness. "Like that'll ever happen. Flak? IQ? Nah." Shade took his red-tinted shades off and polished them. "By the way? how far along is the Red Zephyr? Tell me it's nearly done." Swift flicked back her hair as she leafed through various reports on the table. Studying one for a few seconds, she said "It's nearly done. Estimates put the launch date at one week from now at the latest." Shade put his shades back on. "Good...faster than planned." Just before he was going to end the discussion, he remembered something that had been bugging him. "Gear up the Army for another massive defence at Mesa 2," He said. "Why? Orange Star are gone," Swift asked. "Because now that Orange Star have left, Blue Moon must think we're weak and vulnerable. They'll strike hard, and soon." He stood up from the table and tapped his head. "You gotta think about these things," He said as he walked out.

"Nerd," Diesel said. "I heard that!" Came Shade's angry voice from the hallway.

Battle 4: Blues vs Reds.

CO's: Shade & Swift (RM) vs. Olaf & Grit & Colin (BM).

Special Conditions: None.

Location: Near Mesa 2, Red Mesa Territory.

Time: 1300 Hours OS Time, 3 days later.

Olaf was hot. Very hot. Considering that he was wearing his full Blue Moon uniform, it made sense. He wanted to go and address the troops for any battle that would take place, but Grit talked him out of it, saying that he'd kill himself from heat exhaustion. Olaf relented, albeit reluctantly. He looked out over his troops from the Blue Moon Field HQ instead. "See how good they are? See their level of training? These Red Mesa fools have no chance!" Grit sighed at Olaf's pompous declaration. "Boss, are you sure they are used to desert warfare?" Olaf snorted. "Who cares? These men are more than a match for their troops! Whatever they do, they cannot defeat us!" Grit heaved another sigh, walked over to a couch and laid down, mopping his brow with a handkerchief. Olaf started to scan the battlefield with binoculars, growing irritable. "You'd think that Red Mesa would have showed up by now," He said, gazing at the shifting dunes. "But they're...oh no." Olaf's voice went from 'irritable' to 'oh dear god we are so screwed' so fast that Grit leapt up off the couch to join him. "Holy mother o'..."

It could have just been a mirage. But mirages generally don't appear as obedient, artificial lines, and they certainly didn't move with such an eerily focused intent. Grit shook his head in disbelief. "No...it can't be them...they'd have-"

"Contacted you by now," A voice said from behind them. Olaf and Grit turned away from the window to the main comm screen, to se Shade sitting down wearing his usual smirk, and Swift leaning on his shoulder. "I pre-empted you, didn't I?" Said Shade mockingly, his arms folded. "Olaf and Grit," He continued. "Where's Colin? Oh, wait, I know," He carried on in his mocking tone of voice, "He's planning to ambush our seemingly unprotected left flank. Such a pity he won't succeed." Olaf and Grit were stunned, unable to say anything. Their ace in the hole - Colin's ambush - was useless. "Well, since you know we're here, we might as well unshroud our units," Shade finished. He nodded to Swift, and the transmission ended. Olaf and Grit turned around again to see hundreds of red dots ripple into view in the midst of the sand dunes. At the Red Mesa HQ, two kilometres away, Shade summed up his attitude: "Let us begin."

And begin it did. The combined forces of Shade and Swift resisted brutal attacks from the Blue Moon powerhouse of Olaf, Grit and Colin, the Heavy Tanks making themselves known with the earth-shaking booms of their twin cannons, and the unending rumble of their four engines. After a day of constant, ceaseless fighting - resulting in massive losses on both sides - Shade decided to up the stakes a bit, unleashing his EM Jamming power to cloak the battlefield in an impenetrable Fog of War. Grit tried, and failed, to see through the roiling black fog. "Darn Shade," He mused. "I just know he's up ta somethin'...this darn fog...he could do whatever he likes and we wouldn't be any the wiser..." Olaf snorted. Again. "Like what, launching a flying fortress to blow us all up? Excuse me if I'm not shaking in my little snow boots." Olaf stroked his chins (all of them), and thought. "The best he could do would be to use the fog to mount an arrowhead attack to break our front lines," He said. "He wouldn't dare..." Grit shook his head. "He would, Boss. Shade doesn't care about things as trivial as that. He would go straight for the jugular, and be very brutal." Grit looked out of the window to his Rocket divisions that were protecting the HQ. "Everythin' seems okay..." Then, out of nowhere, five Red Mesa Jets burst forth from the fog and streaked towards the HQ. "They're past our air defences!" Cried Olaf. All Grit and Olaf could do was watch in horror as missiles streaked from under the wings of the jets, and flew in a zigzag formation towards Grit's Rockets. One bout of explosions later, they had been destroyed, and countless numbers of Red Mesa Tanks, of all varieties, rumbled forward out of the fog. Grit shook his head, amazed. "Incredible...never saw it comin'..."

At the Red Mesa HQ, Shade watched their offensive with cold glee, all the while keeping an eye on Swift's fighters. She had insisted in going with them, but Shade was still apprehensive, no matter how good a pilot she was. Swift's voice came through via radio. "I'm taking them around for another pass," She said. Shade didn't reply, but watched as the jets swung around for another attack. The he saw something that made his blood run cold. His induced fog was receding, thinning out...and it was Swift's only cover from the Blue Moon air defences! "SARAH!!" Shade screamed into the radio. "GET OUT OF THERE! ABORT!" But it was too late. All Shade could do was watch in horror as anti-air missiles streaked towards the jets. Four explosions sounded, and Shade hung his head, defeated. Gone...just like that, one of the greatest pilots, and friends, he had ever known. Wait...four? Shade looked back up. There! Swift's jet was still in one piece, although trailing smoke. He saw her eject from the jet. "She'll be captured..." He said sadly. "Sarah..."

Roughly half an hour later, the Blue Moon forces were near defeat, and Olaf contacted Shade. "You might have won the battle, but we have the real victory, the real prize!" Shade was not fazed. "Cut the crap you bearded idiot," He said through gritted teeth. "I know who you've got." The now grinning Olaf stepped to the side to reveal Swift, cuffed and flanked by Blue Moon soldiers. Olaf broke into maniacal laughter. "She's our bargaining tool! We'll return her to you if you surrender unconditionally!" Shade shook his head. "Your arrogance is rivalled only by your ignorance, Olaf. Those terms will never be accepted. Bu you will return Swift to us, or face the consequences..." Swift smiled sadly. "You don't have to risk everything just for me," She said. "Just make sure we win this war." Shade shook his head in disagreement, and closed his eyes. "I can, and I will," He replied, his hands balling into fists as he struggled to control his rising Super Power. Bolts of static started to arc about his body, and the displays on the computers around him, as well as the main screen itself, started to flicker. Terrified realisation appeared in Swift's eyes. "Matt, NO!" She cried. "You nearly killed yourself last time!" Shade nodded, his eyes still closed, the static starting to grow and intensify. "It might kill me, yes," He said, "But Olaf has stepped over the line. No one captures a Red Mesa CO, unless it's over my cold, dead body." Shade raised a hand and clicked his fingers, and the transmission ended. Olaf turned to the horrified Swift. "What was he talking about?!" Swift nodded in the direction of the window. "I think you're going to find out...the hard way." She said shakily. Olaf looked outside. The fog from Shade's EM Jamming wasn't shrinking anymore...it was growing, roiling, billowing like a tropical storm. In it's midst, massive bolts of lightning arced about. "He's combining his two powers," Swift said quietly. The tension and silence in the room was incredible, and Colin, who had arrived just a quarter of an hour before, dived behind the nearest couch. "He's using an EMP Strike to bolster and charge the fog...it's a Lambada EMP..." Grit looked at her. "What?"

"It's the name we've given to it," She said, quite willing to talk to him, knowing what would happen to them all soon. "He's only ever used it once, in a training exercise long ago. It was so powerful, it turned most of the battlefield's sand to a glasslike substance, and the power drain nearly killed him. He spent nearly a year in hospital." The fog started to swirl inwards to form a colossal dome of black fog and electricity. The it exploded outwards with a massive boom, waves of fog and electricity tearing up the land beneath it, EM waves catapulting everything they touched up into the air at an incredible speed. Even Blue Moon MD. Tanks were caught, their screaming occupants carried along for the lethal ride. The Red Mesa units were completely unharmed, their anti-EM devices averting a horrible friendly-fire incident. Everyone in the Blue Moon HQ looked on in horror at the approaching dome of destruction. "Brace yourselves!" Yelled Olaf. The first wave hit, blowing out all the windows in the entire building. Then the following waves struck, electricity and black fog rushing past and through the beleaguered HQ like a flood. The HQ started to slowly crumble away under the strain...

Then it stopped. The black fog had rushed past the HQ and dissipated, the electricity and EM waves were nowhere to be seen. The HQ itself was barely standing, a crumbling skeleton of a building, large holes in the walls and what was left of the windows. The Blue Moon forces that had been on the battlefield were gone. Olaf stood up off the floor, having been knocked down, and looked out across the battlefield. A circular area roughly half a kilometre in diameter was no longer sand, instead the glasslike substance Swift had talked about. He looked back at everyone else, who were picking themselves back up. Swift was laying on the floor still, having been knocked out in the carnage, and Grit walked over to pick her up. "Ev..ev...ev...evacuate...now..." Olaf managed to say. "Before that monster of a CO does anything else!" Everyone else didn't even have to nod, they simply ran out as fast as possible, boarding T Copters that had fortunately been tied down seconds before the EM waves reached them and flung them skywards.

At the Red Mesa HQ, a barely-standing Shade, eyes still closed, smiled.

Then he collapsed.

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End of Chapter 6

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Author Note: Chapter 6...and Shade lost his temper!

Shade: Shut up. How would you like it if I rammed an EMP Strike down your throat?

...Point taken. In Chapter Seven, well, Shade is in intensive care fighting for his life, and with Swift in Blue Moon hands, things look bad for Red Mesa. That's all I'm going to say...


	7. The Red Zephyr

Author Note: So, Chapter 7...thanks for all the reviews so far, they really help me keep writing this, seeing as I've been wasting my time on Red Alert 2, killing poor Soviet soldiers into the small hours of the morning. Homicidal games-playing aside, after this chap I'm going to pick up the pace a bit. Red Mesa need to finish off Blue Moon, Orange Star has to whip Black Hole, and I still have to somehow involve the other countries...sigh...

Disclaimer: Advance Wars, Advance Wars 2, and their content are copyright Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. Red Mesa and its CO's are my intellectual property.

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Advance Wars: Red Mesa – Chapter 7: The Red Zephyr.

By CO Shade.

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Location: Intensive Care Unit, Red Mesa Capital Hospital.

Time: 1200 Hours OS time, 2 months after Swift was captured.

A steady, high-pitched beep sounded again and again, accompanied by the whirr of machinery, as Diesel and Cougar sadly looked over Shade, hooked up to a drip and all sorts of machines, breathing slowly. "This isn't good," Diesel said quietly. "First Swift being captured, now Shade nearly killing himself..." Cougar massaged his temples, forcing himself to stay awake. He hadn't slept for the past day, and he was getting a major headache. "For all we know, Shade could be dead. The sheer power coursing through him could have wiped his mind clearer than a pane of glass." Diesel nodded. However much she wanted to deny it, it was true. The amount of energy Shade used could have left him brain-dead. "How long will it take for him to recover?" Cougar stroked his chin, feeling rough stubble, and decided to shave ASAP. "Perhaps a month until he regains consciousness, the he'll still be bedridden for half a year at the least." Diesel looked at Shade's face, obscured by a breathing mask. "Knowing him, he'll want to be mobile...I guess a wheelchair is in order. And a truckload of painkillers." She then turned to look at Cougar. " We still need to know where Blue Moon have taken Swift," She said, abruptly changing the subject. "Then we can pull her out and raze it to the ground." Cougar started pacing back and forth, arms folded. "The Zynkov POW Camp," He said at last. "It's where they take all high-ranking prisoners." Diesel raised a sceptical eyebrow. "And you know this how?"

Cougar stopped pacing and turned to look at her, "Didn't I ever tell ya? I used to serve in the Blue Moon Army when I was younger." Diesel leaned back in her chair and put her hands behind her head. "Same here, although I never heard about Zynkov. I think all of us came to Red Mesa after serving in other countries. Swift served in Green Earth, we served in Blue Moon...I wonder where Shade served? He's never told us..." Cougar resumed his pacing. "We need to decide a definite COA. I think we should rescue Swift, beat Blue Moon to within an inch of their lives, then go help Orange Star." Diesel smiled and stood up. "In concur," She said. Cougar cracked his knuckles. "Right. Let's get to work. First things first, the Red Zephyr is ready for launch, as you no doubt know. We send in a Viper Team, rescue Swift and-what?" Cougar noticed a look of disgust on Diesel's face. "I hate it when people crack their knuckles. It's sick, and you're damaging the cartilage in your joints." Cougar looked down at his hands. "Ah. So...when do we launch the RZ? Diesel looked down at Shade. "As soon as Shade wakes up and gives the order...if he ever does."

Location: Black Hole Field HQ, Orange Star.

Time: 2135 Hours OS Time, a month later.

"Final launch sequence activated. Launch in T-Minus 60 seconds and counting." At long last, Lash had managed to get her missile platform ready for launch, although much later than planned, as well as being a night-time launch. The sudden defeats at the hands of the Orange Star Army, and with their best scientists trying to figure out what in the name of Sturm Red Mesa had done with their troops in the Capital City battle had pushed back the launch date considerably. Hawke and Lash oversaw the launch from the C&C room of the Black Hole Field HQ. Lash smiled, showing that her childlike demeanour hadn't vanished completely. "I have to admit, having a new weapon to play with is fun. Maybe I should reform my R&D team," She said. Hawke nodded absent-mindedly, watching the countdown intently. "If it can produce weapons like this," He said, motioning to the curled-up missile platform, attached to the launching module, "Then you have my full permission." Lash grinned as the digital readout in the bottom-right of the screen reached zero. "It's launching!" She cried happily. The both looked on as the launch module, a conventional orbital delivery rocket, started to rocket upwards, plumes of smoke billowing out from it's boosters. The light from the rocket lit up the night sky as it ascended higher into the atmosphere. Hawke turned to Lash, who was enraptured by the launch. "How are the missiles themselves coming along?" He asked. "The first two are nearing completion," She replied, still gazing at the column of smoke. "We've given them the names _Alpha_ and _Omega_." Hawke smirked as he realised what she meant. "Alpha and Omega...the First and the Last...quite witty, and it's true. We'll probably only need to launch two...the other countries will surrender quickly and render any spare missiles useless, apart from nuclear deterrence." As Hawke finished, the comm screen flickered into a split-screen view, one showing Adder, the other showing Flak. They both saluted Hawke (reluctantly in Adder's case), who nodded in acknowledgement. "Good to see you both. How are your campaigns going?"

"Neither myself nor Flak have gained or lost any considerable amounts of ground...sir," Said Adder, adding the 'sir' as an afterthought. "It seems that Orange Star morale has been boosted, and the Army itself strengthened, since the...incident...at the capital." Flak nodded in agreement, scratching the back of his head absent-mindedly. Lash frowned. "None of the countries really know what Red Mesa did back then," She said. "The only clue we have is that electromagnetic readings went off the scale. Estimates put it at several billion times the planet's own magnetic field." Hawke rolled his eyes. More scientific talk. "Let our scientists worry about that," He interrupted. "Adder, Flak, all I want you to do is hold out against Orange Star until we've armed the missile platform. Then...we'll go annihilate a couple of capital cities!"

Location: Zynkov POW Camp, Blue Moon.

Time: 0900 Hours BM Time, a week later.

Swift yawned and stretched as she awoke from a dreamless sleep. She rose from the bed in her cell - _it's more of a penthouse suite than a cell_, she thought. _At least they treat me well_. As she washed, her mind drifted to Shade. _Please let him be okay_, she wished silently. _I wouldn't be able to live with myself if he'd died trying to rescue me..._she put on her uniform - which had been cleaned overnight, much to her relief when she first arrived here - and sat down in the nearest chair she could find. She sighed deeply, and started to reflect on what had happened. She'd been treated well enough - it wasn't imprisonment, more of an enforced leisure - and had been fed well. Either Grit or Olaf checked up on her every day, not daring to actually enter the cell and talk to her. Not since they'd searched her for weapons - and found two Red Panther .50 caliber pistols, and several shuriken and throwing knives (the last two being gifts from Shade). Swift chuckled grimly as she recalled the look on Olaf's face as the guards found them - and Grit's timeless remark of "Well Boss, looks like you owe my fifty." She leaned back in her chair, stretching out and putting her hands behind her head. "Wonder how long it'll take Diesel and Cougar to mount a rescue attempt - and Shade...if he's not..." She mentally slapped herself. _Of course he's not dead. I hope..._she looked sadly up at the ceiling, fighting against herself and her emotions, furiously blinking back tears. She leaned forward and put her head in her hands. She had to be strong...she had to...but the sadness and the stresses of everything that had happened were beginning to take their silent toll on her. Swift felt herself start to shake, her breath coming in short, ragged gasps. She tried her best to calm down, tried telling herself that this was just what Blue Moon wanted her to do...in this state, she would talk...

A single tear trickled down her cheek.

Swift heard the cell door swish open, but didn't have the mental strength to look up and see who it was. She heard the door close, and saw someone sit down in the seat opposite to her. She looked up slightly to see that it was Grit, with an expression of mingled pity and sadness on his face. Grit sighed, and leant forwards to look at her. "Sad...I didn't think you could 'do' sad," He said. "What's gettin' ya down?" Swift steadied herself, but her voice was still shaking. "Shade..." She said, looking up at him, defeated. "I..I...just want to know if he's...alive..." She hung her head. "If he died back then...I wouldn't be able to live with myself." Grit nodded, understanding what she was going through. "You love him, don't you?" Her expression said more than enough. "This isn't easy for me either," Grit said. ""If I had my way, Blue Moon wouldn't even be in this war...Olaf's just in it for the land." Grit sighed as he saw no response from Swift. "He's alive," He said at last. "Someone like Shade can't die like that...not that easily. At the worst, he's on life support...but as soon as he wakes up, he'll be rarin' to attack us..." Swift looked back up at him, and gave a small smile. "Hell hath no fury like Shade pissed off..." She said softly. "And they know exactly where to find me." Grit paled, his eyes wide with shock. "What?!"

"Both Cougar and Diesel used to serve in the Blue Moon Army," Swift said matter-of-factly. "They'll know where I am. I myself used to serve in Green Earth...quite a good army, Blue Moon is a shambles compared to them." Grit's expression became neutral as he processed this latest revelation. He stood up, and walked over to the cell door. "I think that's all Olaf will wanna know...if it isn't, screw him." Swift raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't speak bad of your superiors," She said playfully. "But then again, it's Olaf, so you have a good reason." Grit looked at her for a few seconds, then left. Swift frowned as the door sld shut. Was that a smile she saw on his face?

Location: Red Zephyr Dock, Mesa 2, Red Mesa.

Time: 1300 Hours OS Time, one week later.

The Red Zephyr lay in it's dock as countless numbers of units were marched up massive ramps into the belly of the craft. Resembling an elliptical cylinder, it had large, stubby canard wings near the front of the nose, with massive SCRAMJets (Supersonic Ram Jets), almost 50 meters in diameter, mounted on their undersides. At the very front of the nose, two large and suspicious-looking holes marked the end of two tubes that ran nearly the entire length of the ship. Near the ship's rear, a massive building with sloped sides sat between two large vertical fins. In front of it, the bridge, elevated above the deck by forward-slanting supports. The main wings, attached to the rear of the ship, were several hundred meters wide and three times as long. Currently, they were folded up against the body of the Red Zephyr, so the ship could actually leave the dock. Five SCRAMJets were mounted on their undersides at regular intervals. At the very back of the ship, five more SCRAMJets, four of them twice the size of the normal ones, were mounted in a trapezium formation. The entire ship bristled with turrets, missile launchers and rockets, not to mention the ability to launch aircraft from the wings. With a red and black paint job, and the Red Mesa logo adorning it's sides, the ship looked more dangerous and advanced than anything Red Mesa had built or designed, including the Heavy Tank. All in all, it was Wars World's first non-nuclear based 'Superweapon' - any weapon or machine that could destroy an entire city.

Three people stood on an elevated balcony up above the ship. Well, two of them stood. The one in the middle was in a wheelchair, flanked by the other two. The now-conscious Shade, in the wheelchair, smiled coldly. He had woken up a week ago for no apparent reason, his eyes snapping open as he sat up, only to collapse back on the bed because of the pain. He was now on five different painkillers a day, but was going to be stuck in a wheelchair for at least six months. _At least the Red Mesa Government had the courtesy to install wheelchair access_, he thought dryly. On the outside, he gave a harsh laugh, and Diesel and Cougar, the two by his sides, looked at him. "I thought the painkillers sent you to sleep?" Diesel said, looking at him quizzically. Shade folded his arms, a wry smile twisting his features. "The only thing that could knock me out at the moment is industrial-grade alcohol, a large mallet, or one of Sonja's Intel lectures. I've been out cold for three months; I'm not losing consciousness without a fight." He turned away from the massive hulk of the Red Zephyr, and wheeled himself into a nearby lift. "Ready for the launch?" Diesel and Cougar nodded, and went over to join him in the lift. Arriving at the ground floor, the three made their way to the boarding tunnel connected to the bridge. It took them almost five minutes to walk up to the bridge, and Shade wished that he hadn't ordered the Red Zephyr to be this big. He let out a contented sigh as he looked around the bridge. It was time. Grabbing a microphone and switching on the tannoy system, he spoke, his voice heard both inside the ship, and the dock. "This is Commander Shade. Will all crew please board within the next five minutes, we are ready for launch. Open the dock doors." Right on cue, the massive doors at the end of the dock slowly slid and ground apart, letting the sun shine through the entrance. _No doubt the launch will be picked up by every other country_, Shade thought. _But that doesn't matter, not when they see what the RZ can do...then again, they might accelerate their own advanced weapons development. I wouldn't be surprised if each country chose a different avenue of technology...our Vipers have heard about Green Earth nanotech weapons, Yellow Comet's designs for a Weather Disrupter, heck, even Orange Star have plans for a advanced weapon...something called the 'Orange Shroud'. I wonder what type of tech Blue Moon and Black Hole have chosen...we've gone for EMTech, but then again, our army has suffered while our tech has benefited. _Shade decided to wait and see what happened.

Five minutes later, with all the crew on board and in position, and the dock cleared, Shade felt the ship vibrate as the massive engines and the EM hover systems powered up. Everyone on the entire ship held their breath as the Red Zephyr slid slowly, gracefully and silently out of the dock, the doors sliding closed behind it. A rousing cheer went up from the bridge crew, and the main wings swivelled out and down into their flying positions. The massive ship started to pick up speed as it flew higher and higher, eventually clearing the cloud tops as it veered off towards its destination.

The Zynkov POW Camp.

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End of Chapter 7

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Author Note: That's Chap 7 over and done with...and how did Shade regain consciousness so quickly?

Shade: Because it drives the plot forward, you moron.

But I write the plot!

Shade: Let's face it. The people want action. They want the Red Zephyr blowing things up. I might not be in the condition to command in battles yet, but I can still blow stuff up with the aforementioned battlecruiser.

...Makes sense. In Chap 8, Shade does the above and blows stuff up with the Red Zephyr, and Olaf will make a decision that will affect Blue Moon for years to come...


	8. Gradi

Author Note: Chapter 8...I really have to get new chapters out faster. I've now abandoned the idea of writing out drafts in my fanfiction book, and instead I am just going to type them out. It makes the whole thing faster.

Disclaimer: Advance Wars, Advance Wars 2, and their content are copyright Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. Red Mesa and its CO's are my intellectual property.

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Advance Wars: Red Mesa – Chapter 8: Gradi.

By CO Shade.

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Location: Zynkov POW Camp, Blue Moon.

Time: 1200 Hours BM Time, one day after the Red Zephyr launch.

"So what exactly is Red Mesa shrouding?" Grit was talking to Swift again in her cell. He kept asking questions about Red mesa and Swift always managed to give answers without giving away any secrets. This time was no exception. "Well, it's basically using a network of electromagnets similar to degaussing in ships. It bends light around the object, rendering it invisible...the rippling mirage effect is caused by instabilities in the field." Grit frowned. Every answer she gave threw up more questions. "An' how come on'y Shade uses shrouding technology in battle?" He asked. Swift smiled. "He doesn't. He seems to be able to reproduce the effect with his EM powers...boy, if the main Mesa shrouds went offline, you'd have a sight to see." Grit raised and eyebrow. _Obvious subject change there, _he thought. _Did she nearly let slip an' tell me a secret? Hmm... _"Why would there be a sight to see?" He asked. _Might as well play along... _"We have beautiful cities," Swift said, sighing dreamily as she recalled them. "Wonderful architecture, plants, flowers and trees everywhere...every one of our cities is an oasis amongst the barren landscape of our country." Before Grit could ask another question, three Blue Moon soldiers rushed in. By the looks of terror and their erratic movements, Grit realised they were panicking. _Not exactly hard ta figure out... _he thought. "What in tha blazes is goin' on here?" 

"T-there's a massive flying....thing...approaching the camp, s-sir!" One of the soldiers cried. "It's several hundred meters in length, maybe a kilometer, and it's approaching fast!" At this, Swift got up and went to the window, looking up into the cloudy sky. "They're behind the launch date.." She murmured, almost to herself. Everyone else in the room turned to stare at her. "What?!" Grit cried. "Do you know somethin' about this?" Swift turned to look at him, a triumphant smile playing on her lips. "Know? Grit, I commissioned the development of the Red Zephyr myself?" She said. "You guys are in so much trouble now..." Grit sighed. Today was going to be one of those days...he turned to the soldiers. "Ready our ani-air defenses an' get ready ta blow that thing outta the sky!" Swift shook her head, still smiling. "You'll hardly scratch it," She said, chuckling. "Simulations we ran showed that nothing save hardened armour-piercing warheads can penetrate the Red Zephyr's hull." Grit took out his revolver and twirled it around his index finger. "A Super Snipe will blow open any weak points," He said, holstering his gun. Swift frowned. _He may be right... _"We'll see," She said. Her mind was racing. _If the Zephyr is here...then they've come to rescue me...Shade...he must be alive! _She turned back to the window to see the Red Zephyr, flying low to the ground less than a kilometer away, and closing fast. She saw a dot lift off from the left wing, and she squinted to look at it. It was a T Copter, rotors whirring as it flew towards the camp, straight towards a battery of Missiles. She looked on in horror as a wall of missiles shot up into the sky. Most missed the T-Copter - Swift had no idea how - but one hit it dead on, tearing open the side in a ball of fire. Five figures jumped out seconds before it exploded, and parachuted down to the ground, rippling into nothing as they shrouded. _Vipers! _Swift thought. _Only they would be insane enough to do that..._

Her eyes darted back to the Red Zephyr as it slowed to a stop, less then 200 meters away from the camp. Grit's Missiles threw everything they had at it, only to see their missiles blown up by chain gun fire from the battlecruiser's anti-air turrets. Swift heard the cell door swish open, and she whirled around to see the five Vipers unshrouding in front of Grit and the shocked Blue Moon soldiers. Grit whipped out his revolver so fast his arm was a blur, but the leading Viper (wearing a red shoulder patch) took out his own just as fast, drawing the hammer back with an ominous click. With his other hand he took off his helmet, revealing a youthful, blond-haired face. "Colt!" Swift cried. Colt nodded at her, and said "Nice to see you, Commander. Before we bust you outta here, what shall we do with Grit and the three Mooners?" Swift looked at him, then at Grit. "Grit, you're always saying how you hate this war," She said, a plan forming in her mind. "It's very probable that the Red Zephyr will wipe this camp off the map, as well. Why don't you come with us?"

A shocked gasp came from the Blue Moon soldiers, and they would have said something if it hadn't been for the presence of the Vipers. Grit was thrown by the way Swift asked him so offhandedly, and it was a while before he could speak. "Well, that's a generous offer, but-"

"You'll have complete amnesty, the choice of whether or not you actually command, and you'll get out of Olaf's plans," Swift said, cutting across him. "You'll be bale to see all our new indirect units, and your skills won't be going to waste like they are doing here." Swift ran a hand through her hair as Grit thought about it. "Plus the fact that we could really use your experience," She said. "Compared to you, the Red Mesa CO's are combat rookies. Sure, we've had field tests and battle simulations, but these real battles are our first."

"Well..." Grit weighed up his potions. Stay with Blue Moon and get wiped out with the camp...well, the Reds made it easy. "Yeah, but I don't know if I really wanna command. I'll go, but just to make sure I don't get blasted to hell an' back by you guys." The Blue Moon soldiers looked furious and betrayed, but said nothing. "Okay...we'd better go now, and fast," Colt said. "Vipers, take care of these soldiers while I escort the Commanders outside and signal for a copter." The other Vipers nodded, and Grit, Swift and Colt walked out of the cell. As the door swished closed, their were a series of thuds and muffled groans from inside the cell. Colt turned toward the noise, and smirked. "Brutal, but effective," He said. "That's just what I like to see - hear, from my unit." Grit raised and eyebrow. "You have separate units in an elite group?" He said. "Each of the Cobras - that is, the squad leaders of the Vipers - has their own unit, to train how they like," Colt replied. "Mine are quick and brutal gunfighters." He headed for the exit. "I'll take point. Follow me." As Swift and Grit followed Colt, they saw him take out and switch on a radio. "I've got them both," he said into it. "Get us a T Copter down here, and make it quick." He put the radio away and stopped in front of a large steel door. Colt turned to see the rest of his unit rendezvous with them.

Location: Left Wing Aerial Deck, Red Zephyr.

Time: 1230 Hours BM Time.

Shade was getting anxious. It had been almost 15 minutes since Colt had radioed for a T Copter, and it had only just launched. _Thank god it's shrouded_, he thought, _or we'd just give them a fireworks display..._

He shivered. It was cold up here. He looked around him. The left wing stretched out far to the right of him, planes and helicopters dotted along it's length, and to his left stood Diesel and Cougar. Judging from the way Diesel had stolen Cougar's heavy brown trenchcoat and wrapped herself in it, she was feeling the cold too. Cougar however barely felt it as he squinted at the camp. "They're takin' longer than they should," He said, frowning. "C'mon guys..." His voice trailed off as the T Copter unshrouded a short way from the wing. "Good timing, Cougar," Shade said, smirking as the T Copter landed next to them. "Maybe you should be predicting stock market crashes!" Cougar shot a mock-angry look at him as they went towards the copter (Shade still in his wheelchair). Shade heard a high-pitched scream milliseconds before a crying hysterical Swift ran into him, wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. "Uhh...yeah...I missed you too Sarah..." He said, voice muffled slightly. "Now, could you please spare my ribs? They're quite sore at the moment..." Swift released him, eyes full of tears. "I thought you'd died..." She said quietly. "So did I, but I'm alive still, despite turning a square kilometre of desert in glass," He replied. "Now stop crying, you'll make me cry," He said, grinning. Swift smiled slightly in return. They turned to see Grit walk up to them. "It's nice ta see ya in the flesh Shade," He drawled, extended a hand. Shade shook it, the grin still on his face. "Grit!" He said. "So you came...good..." Shade looked at a crewmate standing near to them. "Tell Captain Alaro to initiate the attack," He said, and the man nodded and sprinted off to relay the order. "Now," said Shade, looking at Swift, Grit and the others, "Why don't we go to the bridge and watch the show?"

The Blue Moon forces stationed at the camp were doing everything in their ability to attack the Red Zephyr, but to no avail. Then, suddenly, all the Anti-Air fire from the massive cruiser stopped, and the two circular ports on it's nose opened. Then, without warning, massive beams of energy lanced out of the ports, and the ground they hit disappeared in a massive explosion, dirt (and Blue Moon units) being flung high into the air. Shade and the others watched as the Red Zephyr opened fire again, this time destroying the west wing of the camp. "What the heck kinda weapons do you have on this thing?!" Grit cried, awestruck. "Railguns," Shade said. "They use electromagnets to propel slugs at incredible speeds. These ones can launch the slug at three quarters the speed of light - it also makes the beams, but they don't cause damage. It just looks like they do because the slugs are travelling too fast to be seen by the naked eye." The railguns fired again, this time wiping out the main camp building in a single strike. The other numerous weapons on the Red Zephyr opened fire, with rockets, missiles, chainguns, EMP weapons, and prototype Directed Energy Weapons turning what used to be Blue Moon's biggest and best POW camp into a smoking wasteland. Not to mention the escort fighters being launched from the wings, who were engaging the Blue Moon jets that had managed to take off and avoid being shot down/blasted to bits/ripped to shreds by the railguns. All in all, it took less than ten minutes for the Red Mesa forces to clean up and destroy all traces of the camp. The Red Zephyr then turned around slowly, and flew off back to Red Mesa, to rest and refuel before heading to their next destination.

Orange Star.

Location: Blue Moon HQ, Blue Moon.

Time: 1330 Hours BM Time.

"ARGH! THAT MISERABLE TRAITOR!" As most people in the HQ could tell, Olaf was in a bad mood. "THOSE USELESS, COWARDLY RED MESA FOOLS!" He roared, pacing back and forth behind his desk. The soldier who had had the unluckiness of telling him this information had long retreated behind Olaf's antique couch, shaking uncontrollably. Olaf calmed down somewhat, but has was still shaking with rage. "Now we have a CO gap! I'm the only Commander in Blue Moon!" He cried. Spotting the cowering soldier, he bellowed, "Who else do we have who is fit to command?!" The soldier stood up shakily, and frantically tried to remember who else they had in reserve. "G-G-Gradi, Sir. H-he's a psychic, can read minds and stuff." Olaf raised a sceptical eyebrow. "Bring him in the-"

"I'm already in here, Sir," Said a quiet, Russian-accented voice. Olaf turned from behind his desk to see a tall, thin man, with a bald head and a small goatee. "How did you know you were going to be called in here?" Olaf asked. Gradi smiled slightly. "I simply read your mind as you thought of the order. It was quite simple, really." Olaf stared in wonder. "Amazing...if you can read minds, then-" Olaf was once again interrupted by Gradi. "I can see through Shade's EM Jamming and see whatever he is doing...I can read anyone." Gradi gave another small smile. Olaf nodded. "I think we've found our replacement CO," He said. "Gradi, you are now an official Commanding Officer of Blue Moon. Congratulations!" Gradi nodded his mind churning with new thoughts. _Good, very good...now, all I have to do is eliminate that fat fool and any people loyal to him, and a new, psychic world order will arise..._

Olaf didn't know it then, but he had laid the foundations for one of the most brutal and horrific wars ever to be fought in Wars World...

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End of Chapter 8

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Author Note: Chapter 8, and Olaf's doomed his country...and, of course, the entire world.

Shade: What do you expect? He's Father Christmas, not a CO!

True, true. Chapter 9 sees the combined might of Red Mesa and Orange Star smash Black Hole, but what about their missile platform? And Gradi?


	9. A Problem Solved, A Problem Found

Author Note: Chapter 9, eh? How time flies...anyways, I'm gonna start to wrap this story up. It'll probably finish with Chapter 10...

Disclaimer: Advance Wars, Advance Wars 2, and their content are copyright Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. Red Mesa and its CO's are my intellectual property.

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Advance Wars: Red Mesa – Chapter 9: A Problem Solved, A Problem Found.

By CO Shade.

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Location: Red Zephyr, Above the Red Mesa/Orange Star Border.

Time: 1200 Hours OS Time, 2 days after the destruction of the Zynkov POW Camp.

The Red Zephyr was hovering in the clouds directly over the Orange Star/Red Mesa border. Everyone was silent as Shade paced - well, wheeled himself backwards and forwards on the bridge, detailing his plan. "Put simply, we need to find the heaviest concentration of Black Hole forces, land the Red Zephyr, unload all our ground forces - actually, we won't have to land, will we, we have dropships - and destroy them. It would give their morale a kick in the-"

"Shade!" Swift said warningly. Shade grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. It would destroy their morale, and probably force them to retreat. So, any questions?" He clapped his hands together and looked around at them all - Grit, Cougar, Diesel and Swift, along with the Cobras. No-one said anything. "Good." He turned to the helmsman to his right. "Set a course to the Alara Plains. That's where Hawke's forces are mostly stationed at the moment." The helmsman nodded and tapped in the coordinates. "Course set, sir," He said. Shade grinned. He always wanted to say this. He raised a hand and pointed out of the bridge windows. "Engage," He said, with a vaguely British accent. He started giggling as everyone turned to look at him. "Sorry, always wanted to say that." Cougar chuckled. "Whatever you say, Captain Picard," He said, chuckling gruffly. "You want some Earl Grey Tea now?" Shade frowned in mock annoyance. "I didn't say I _wanted_ to be Picard, Cougar," He said, still in the British accent. "I just wanted to say 'engage'." Diesel rolled her eyes. "Can we please rise back up to normal IQ levels? Your stupidity is contagious." Shade looked hurt. "We are not stupid! We are merely acting like nerds for comedy purposes." Diesel didn't look convinced, so Shade decided to stop playing around. "Okay, back to normality then. Estimated time of arrival, please?" He said to the helmsman again. "Approximately 5 hours," He replied. Shade nodded. "Thank you. Okay, this semi-briefing-type-thing is over, people. Dismissed." As everybody walked off, Swift walked up to Shade. "You okay?" She asked. "Sure," Shade replied. "Why do you ask?" Swift looked past him and out of the windows, at the clouds below them. "It's just...you seem restless," She said hesitantly. "I know there's something bothering you." Shade thought about explaining it away as the coffee they served on the RZ, but he knew Swift would see through it. "Well, it's just...this," He said, gesturing towards his wheelchair. "I'm getting fed up of being wheeled, or wheeling myself, everywhere. It's getting frustrating, especially when I see you guys walking about freely."

"I can guess," Swift said softly. "But you've been recovering faster than the last time you used a Lambda EMP. You're roughly six months into recovery. Last time, you were still in intensive care." Shade nodded. It was true. Then a thought came to him, along with a swelling feeling of hope. "Sarah...do you think I'm far enough along to be able to walk yet?" He asked. Swift looked down on him sadly. "Not yet," She said softly, shaking her head. "Even if you can, it's not wise to try. You could set your recovery back by months if something goes wrong." Shade sighed. He knew it was true. "Fine, I'll wait," He said resignedly. He started to wheel himself towards the bridge elevator. "Wanna go for a walk on the flight deck?" He asked hopefully. Swift chuckled at his comical puppy-dog eyes and followed after him. "Sure, I need a breath of fresh air." While they were in the elevator, Shade sniggered to himself. "What?" Swift asked slowly. "What's so funny?" Shade sniggered and looked up at her. "Well, I got a call from Sonja early this morning. It mainly consisted of her pale and speechless, pointing madly to pictures of the Red Zephyr. Then Eagle butted in," He said grinning. "Oh great, Mr. I've-Got-The-Best-Air-Units," Swift said, frowning. "What did he want?" Shade smiled. Swift didn't exactly like Eagle much – scratch that, she despised him. "Well, his transmission was mainly him ranting on about us having the most advanced piece of aeronautical technology on the planet, when HE's the best air specialist. Naturally, I pressed the mute button until he had calmed down." Swift grinned happily. "The show-off deserved it. Anyway, what did he say after that?" The elevator came to a stop and Shade and Swift went out onto the flight deck, the wind howling past them as they made their way down the deck towards the nose. "Well, he said something along the lines of 'Got to go with Drake on a fishing trip'. He looked a tad nauseated at when he said that..." He looked around. They were halfway down the flight deck, the bridge quite a way behind, and the nose a way off in the distance. "Once again, I am not happy about the size of this thing..." he mutttered. "Only because you're too lazy to put some effort into anything," Swift said. "Come on, or do I have to push you?" Shade looked at her, smirking. "Now that you asked..."

"Oh no, no way!" Swift said. Shade did his best puppy-dog eyes. They looked solidly at each other for what seemed like an hour, until Swift caved in. "Oh, fine," She said, sighing, "But don't expect me to do this all the time!" Shade grinned. "I don't! But look at poor, helpless me. I neeeeeed help!" Swift shook her head, exasperated. "Please let him heal soon, please let him heal soon..." She murmured under her breath as she wheeled Shade along. Eventually, after a long time (and both of them getting soaked after the Red Zephyr flew straight through a cloud), they reached the very end of the flight deck, at the craft's nose. Swift sighed and leant against the railing. "My arms are killing me," She moaned. Shade grinned and leant back in his wheelchair. "Well, my Super Power nearly killed me, so you can't talk, eh?" Swift shot him an exasperated look at him and clipped him round the ear. "Ow! What was that for?!" He cried. "That's for making ME push you all the way down here when you were perfectly capable of doing it yourself!"

"And?"

"Argh! What would you do if the others and me suddenly dropped dead? You'd have to do everything by yourself! Then we'd see-Matt?" Swift stopped mid-rant to see Shade looking stricken. "Are you all right?" Shade looked at her, still stricken. "Never, ever, say that again," He said, his voice breaking slightly. "Because every day I pray with every fibre of my being that it doesn't come true. You and the others are fellow CO's, and my best friends. I care about you all, but I don't think we'll leave this war without losing one of us. So don't let me hear you say that again, because it may just come true." Swift was taken aback. "I didn't think you cared about us _that_ much," She said softly. "Do you really think that one of us will-" She couldn't bring herself to say it. Shade nodded. "It could be any of us. It could even be me..." Before Swift could reply, an alarm klaxon went off all over the ship, and Shade's radio crackled. "Incoming Black Hole fighters!" Cougar yelled. "Hawke's throwin' a major temper tantrum! Shade, Swift, get back to the bridge NOW!" Shade sighed and rolled his eyes. He gestured to the handles on his wheelchair. "Would you?" He asked Swift, who sighed resignedly. "This is gonna be a long day..." She moaned.

Location: Orange Star Field HQ, Alara Plains.

Time: 1230 Hours OS Time, the same day.

It was a hot day on the Alara Plains. _Very_ hot. Nell was fanning herself as she leant back in her chair, Sami was sleeping on the couch, and Andy and Max were fighting for control of the area near the ventilation fans. "I've been working out for two hours and I need to cool down!" Max said as he pushed Andy out of the way. "And? I've been tuning up my units for the whole morning! In the baking hot sun!" Andy replied as he advanced on Max, wrench in hand. Nell sighed as she watched them pushing each other out of the way – well, Max pushed Andy, but retreated when Andy came back with his wrench. "Will you two just quit it?" She cried. "Go to the canteen's freezer section or something! Geez..." At this, Andy and Max's eyes lit up, and they ran out of the room. "You weren't meant to take that seriously!" She called after them. "Boys..." She shook her head, leaned back further in her chair and closed her eyes. A few seconds later, sirens went off all over the HQ, and Max and Andy came pelting back in. Nell got out of her chair and crossed wearily to one of the computers, grumbling about not getting any rest. "Incoming transmission," She said to the others. "From...Red Mesa? What in the..." Sami, woken by the sirens, crossed over to Nell, who patched through the transmission to the main screen. Cougar's face appeared on the screen, with the Red Zephyr's bridge in the background, as well as Shade, Diesel and Grit. "Nell," Cougar said, nodding. "Thank god someone's got the time to patch us through." There was a muffled explosion and the view shook slightly. "What's going on? Are you in that flying fortress you launched?" Nell asked. Cougar nodded. "We were on our way to attack Hawke's forces in this region, but he's throwing everything he's got at us. Fighters, Bombers...our Anti Air guns are coping with some of it, but Hawke's still getting through..." 

There was another explosion, and the screen shook again. Shade appeared next to Cougar, looked decidedly worried. "Swift's up there with our Archangel Squadron, and we're scrambling all our air defences, but there's just too many of them..." Sami raised an eyebrow. "Never thought CO's of your ability would need support..." She said, but Nell shushed her. "Do you need assistance?" She said, as the screen shook again. Shade nodded. "If you give us support, we'll send down a few dropships to help with any offensive you're planning." Nell's eyes narrowed. "Dropships?" Shade smiled. "Full of infantry, mechs, tanks of all types (including Heavy Tanks), and indirects. And if you need any more, just ask, and I'll send more." Nell smiled. "Deal," She said happily. "If we both hit Hawke at the same time, we'll have a chance of wiping out the Black Hole presence in this region." Shade smiled back. "Happy to be of service," He said. He was about to speak again when his radio crackled. He took it out and spoke into it. "Yes?" Nell and the others watched as his eyes widened in shock. "How many?! ...Great...just make sure you stay out of trouble, Swift..." He put the radio away and looked at the Orange Star CO's grimly. "Hawke's sending in five more squadrons. He's hell-bent on taking the Red Zephyr down." Max grinned. "I'll get my units ready," He said, and ran off. Nell looked back at him as he left. "Of course...Max's direct units...his Fighters and Anti-Air would stomp Hawke..." She turned back to the screen. "Help's on its way," She said. "See you on the battlefield." Shade and Cougar nodded, and Shade turned to the helmsman in the background. "Take us down below cloud level," He said. "Might as well intimidate any Black Hole units on the ground..." He turned back to the screen, nodded, and cut the transmission.

Battle 1: Surgical Strike

CO's: Cougar (RM) and Max (OS) vs. Hawke (BH).

Special Conditions: Red Zephyr support, under the captaincy of Shade.

Location: Alara Plains, Orange Star

Time: 1300 Hours OS Time.

As Shade promised, several Red Mesa dropships landed from the Red Zephyr to aid Max's ground assault. Hawke still has the superior numbers, with a massive army at least twice the size of the combined Orange Star/Red Mesa force. In the first few days, the only fighting was small skirmishes as the two sides tested each other's abilities. That is, until Shade got bored and fired the Red Zephyr's railguns right at Hawke's battalion of Neotanks. Then all hell broke loose, with Hawke causing major damage even as his forces were being blasted away by the Red Zephyr, the 35's Heavy Tank Battalion, and Max's main column of tanks and indirect units. Max's column just rolled right through Hawke's swarm of units, cheering every time the Red Mesa forces blew up everything to their sides, with Max's infantry following behind, capturing Hawke's properties to deny him any funds. The aforementioned Hawke finally unleashed a Black Storm and slowed the Orange Star advance, but Max and Cougar came right back with Max Blast and Surgical Strike, Cougar blowing up yet another Neotank unit, and Max pushing hard into Black Hole territory.

Hawke was in a bad mood a few days after he had used Black Storm. He was on 10 cups of coffee a day, and was extremely irritable and unbalanced. When Adder tentatively suggested a retreat, he got an entire table thrown at him. Flak and Lash left the HQ soon after that. Hawke knew he was losing badly, and he knew that this battle would probably make the entire Black Hole Army retreat in disarray. He decided to abandon his entire force there and then and leave for Black Hole at once. After rigging the C&C room in the HQ with several hundred pounds of C4, of course. He boarded a T Copter on the eighth day and left before the Orange Star attack force got to the HQ. Max headed straight for the Black Hole HQ while Cougar dealt with the remaining enemy units. Cougar contacted Max before he got to the HQ. "Max, watch out. Shade just scanned the Black Hole HQ and there's no life signs. It may be a trap, so I suggest you just level it." Max nodded, and relayed the order to his artillery. Several booms later, the HQ shuddered under the artillery fire, and the top floor was ripped apart by Hawke's C4. Cougar contacted Max with a jubilant grin on his face. "Told ya," He said. "Oh and, we won. Black Hole is retreating on all fronts." A cry of "Wahoo! We won!" Emerged from behind Max, who turned around. "Shut up Andy. We're not finished with them yet. It's on to Black Hole next." Cougar nodded, but Shade tapped him on the shoulder. "I've just sent something of interest to Orange Star. I want all of us to be at the Heaven's Eye tomorrow. No excuses." Max frowned. "Why? And why do you want the other countries to be there? This doesn't involve them..." Shade cut across him. "Oh it does, Max. It involves every damn country on Wars World. It's a threat to all of us." 

"What's a threat?" Max asked, but Shade had already cut the transmission. "Sigh...better tell the guys..."

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End of Chapter 9

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Author Note: Chapter 9, and the fic's starting to come to a close.

Shade: Do I really have to...well...you know?

Yes, it adds a twist to the plot and gives me a reason to write a sequel. So stop complaining! Or you'll give the ending away!

Shade: *Humph* Fine.

Anyway...in Chapter 10, the final days of the war are shown...stay tuned!


	10. One For The Many

Author Note: Here it is, Chapter 10...this one has a massive twist, and not one that any of you would expect, I hope. And don't worry, a sequel is in the works...

Disclaimer: Advance Wars, Advance Wars 2, and their content are copyright Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. Red Mesa and its CO's are my intellectual property.

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Advance Wars: Red Mesa – Chapter 10: One For The Many.

By CO Shade.

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Location: Heaven's Eye Conference Building, Heaven's Eye Island.

Time: Two months after Black Hole was routed from Orange Star.

"Who called this meting anyway dear Sonja?"

"Shade, the Red Mesan leader. He says they've found something, and it's got even Red Mesa scared."

"Then what is it? We can't just sit here!"

"Eagle, calm down! Shade and the other Red Mesa CO's are arriving soon."

Practically all the CO's in Cosmo Land were seated around the conference table. Blue Moon were keeping quiet, with Gradi meditating silently between Olaf and Colin. Jess and Drake were trying to calm down an agitated Eagle, and Kanbei and Sonja were talking about what Shade had said, Sensei snoozing in the chair next to them. Andy, Sami and Max were looking expectantly at the double doors. "Where's Nell? She should be here..." Sami said, frowning slightly. Bang on cue, Nell pushed open the doors and strode through them, a worried look on her face. "They're here," She announced to the gathered CO's. "And believe me, this conference is well worth it." Everyone's faces turned towards the doors, and even Sensei woke up to see the Red Mesa CO's in person. Everyone waited silently...then Shade strolled through the door, with Swift, Cougar and Diesel behind him. Nell looked surprised. "I thought-"

"I was in a wheelchair. I was, but I managed to take a few steps a month or so ago. The allure of coffee couldn't keep me in that thing forever..." Shade smiled slightly, as Olaf looked at him and the other CO's. "Where's that traitor Grit? I want to know where he is! When I get my hands on-" Olaf was starting to go into 'rant mode', but Cougar's rough, growling voice silenced him. "He's on intel duty, trying to find out more about what we're facing. So I suggest you hold your anger for later, Olaf." Olaf was taken aback. "How dare you speak to me like-"

"He's right Sir, this isn't the time," Said Gradi. "Plus, you broke my concentration. I need to meditate to keep my powers in check." Olaf pouted slightly, huffed, and fell silent. The Red Mesa CO's, minus Shade, walked over to the table and sat down opposite from Yellow Comet. Shade walked over to the podium at the head of the table, and looked over them all with a grim expression. "Well, Black Hole may have been completely driven out of Orange Star, but it may not matter soon, it may have all been for nought." Seeing the overall look of confusion on everyone's faces, he pressed on, and pushed several buttons on the podium. The projector clicked on and showed pictures of what looked like a satellite...apart from the massive tubes located around it's sides. Shade smiled grimly as the CO's expressions changed from confusion to shock. "An orbital missile platform," He said quietly. "Think Sturm's missile platform was bad? This is worse. Think of any target on the planet. This thing can nuke it."

There were cries of shock from some of the CO's, and the others were too horrified to speak. Shade nodded. "Yep...seems you all realise what this means." He pressed a few more buttons, and a picture of a massive satellite dish appeared on the screen behind him. "This is the platform's control centre. It's bang in the centre of Black Hole itself. It controls the platform: it's orientation, launching, security, everything. So to shut that platform down..."

"We hit that control centre with everything we've got," Sonja said. "But we'll need to fight our way right into the heart of Black Hole just to get at it first." Shade nodded. "Exactly. Or we could hit the platform itself." Sonja snorted. "And how do you suggest we hit it when it's in high orbit?" Shade smiled, and pressed yet another button. This time the screen showed pictures of a large, hemispherical device, with tubes and cables snaking to and from it. "This is Red Mesa's pride and joy, the Event Horizon," Shade said. "You Orange Star CO's might have heard of it during the Capital City battle. You know, when it made all those Black Hole troops disappear." Nell stared at him with wide eyes. "H-How...what-what is that thing?!" Shade smirked. "It's basically a device that can warp space-time. We use this baby, we can warp a team of elite Allied Special Forces up there, set some explosives, and warp them back down just in time to watch the fireworks." Sonja raised an eyebrow. "Smart..." Shade smirked even more. "Damn I'm good." Swift chuckled. "Now is not the time to satisfy your ego, Shade. We need a course of action now." Shade nodded, and ran a hand through his hair, thinking. "We do a two-pronged assault. The bulk of the Allied forces, with support from Red Mesa and the Red Zephyr, make a spearhead assault deep into Black Hole territory and hit the control centre. The Allied Special forces will be warped up to plant explosive charges on the platform itself. If we fail in one way, we can still succeed in the other." The others looked sceptical, and conferred amongst themselves as Shade went and sat down next to Swift. He leaned over to Nell. "What's your opinion?" He said to her. She looked around at the other CO's as they discussed Shade's plan. "Some of them don't look convinced," She said. "Blue Moon looks like they don't trust you." Shade nodded, and stroked his chin. Eventually he stood up, and walked slowly over to the podium again, as the CO's fell silent and looked at him. Shade looked back at them all. "It's come to my attention that some of you obviously don't place any trust in this plan. Perhaps you want a demonstration of the Event Horizon, yes?" Judging from their expressions, Shade knew that was what they wanted. Shade sighed exasperatedly and pulled out a mobile phone. Olaf raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing? Checking your credit?"

"One: Olaf, I get unlimited credit. Two: If you want a demo, stop making sarcastic comments," Shade said angrily, keying in a number. He raised the phone to his ear and waited silently for a few seconds.

"Ah. Dr. Tenille? This is Shade. Where's the Red Zephyr right now? In dock? Good."

Silence.

"Yep, you read my mind. Put it right next to the top floor, so they can see it out of the windows."

Silence.

"Yes, I know it'll brownout half of Mesa 2 warping something that big, but it's gotta be done to get the battle plan accepted."

Silence.

"Okay. Thanks. Bye." Shade pocketed his mobile and turned to the gathered CO's. He gestured to his right, out of the windows. "Now you'll see what the Event Horizon can _really_ do." He smiled and looked out of the windows himself as the others did the same. He watched and waited...then suddenly, a massive flash of light blinded everybody in the room, and everyone minus the Red Mesa CO's jerked their heads away in reaction. As the light faded, they turned their heads back to see a wall of metal, with the words 'Red Zephyr X23" painted on it in white. Shade chuckled. "It just warped the Red Zephyr over here," He said, as the others looked between him and the Red Zephyr itself, completely at a loss for words. "So, any doubts now?" He continued, grinning slightly. Everyone shook their heads. "Well then, I think this conference is over. You guys co-ordinate the ground offensive; send your best Special Forces people to us and we'll handle the rest." Shade stepped down from the podium and left with the other Red Mesa CO's as everyone went his or her separate ways...

Location: The Nexus, Mesa 2, Red Mesa.

Time: 1500 Hours OS time, 5 days later.

Shade paced back and forth, muttering to himself, and once in a while glancing out of the control booth's windows. He was in the Nexus, a large, hemispherical room in the heart of Mesa 2. He was currently within the control booth for the Event Horizon, a smaller room built into the rocky side of the Nexus, separated by a blast shield and crammed full of technology. He was anxiously waiting for a second report from the other Cosmo Land CO's on the status of their offensive drive into Orange Star, which had begun the day before. They had made successful landing on Black Hole's southern shores, but were being bogged down by the enemy on their way to the control centre. Obviously, Hawke knew what they were trying to do. Shade started to run through their side of the plan in his head, walking over to a computer console that wasn't taken by a tech, and typing like a madman. _One thing I'm worried about is the range of the EH itself,_ he thought. _We might not be able to get the Special Forces guys up there in the first place..._ his suspicions were confirmed as he saw the answer given by the computer, and he swore silently. _Either we find out how to get something up there, _he thought, _or we pray that they destroy the control centre in time..._

Another idea occurred to him, and he looked at his hands silently, techs bustling around him. _Could I?...But I might not..._ his eyes looked dulled. As he thought, and he typed in another calculation. He saw the answer, and shook his head in saddened disbelief. "No..." He whispered. "There has to be another way..." and try to find another way he did. But whatever he tried, it didn't work. Shade sighed, defeated, sat back, and thought about things. His life. His career. Swift. The day he first joined Red Mesa...

__

"Do you solemnly swear to protect this country, it's interests, it's people, and it's military for as long as you live?!" Barked the commander, a brown-haired, middle-aged man with a moustache too big to be natural. Victor. Quite possibly the greatest CO Red Mesa ever had.

"Yes Sir!" I roared back, left hand over my heart, the right saluting Victor.

"And do you vow to give your life to save this country?!" Victor barked again.

And even as I roared back an affirmative with the other soldiers, I had a strange, foreboding feeling. It felt as if that very vow had sealed my fate...

Shade's mind snapped back to the here and now after he relived that memory. "Victor...he had been like a father to me...." Shade murmured to himself. "And that vow...I knew it would come to that...I guess I knew it all along..." He sighed, resigned to his fate, got up, and left for the Red Mesa capital. He had something to do...something important. A few seconds after Shade had left, Cougar walked into the Nexus. He looked around for a bit, frowned, and left, muttering something about Shade "Never staying in one damn place for longer than five minutes." As he strode down the corridor outside, making his way back to the parking garage, he flipped open a Red Mesa inter-CO communicator. He pressed Shade's button. "Shade? Where are you?" Cougar said to the communicator, but there was no reply. "Great time to turn it off..." He growled, and pocketed the communicator. He walked into the parking garage, vaulted into his black convertible, and drove off. At the same time, Shade had finished recording something, and had emailed it to Swift, with a time delay of two days. He sighed, eyes downcast, and left his house, getting onto his black sports bike, gunning it's engine into life, and roaring off to the Red Mesa capital, several things on his mind...

Location: Cosmo Allies Field HQ, Black Hole.

Time: 2000 Hours OS Time, the same day.

Gradi watched silently over the battle on the countryside of Black Hole. The Allies were making a three-pronged assault; Orange Star was attacking from the south, Blue Moon from the southwest, Yellow Comet from the southeast, and the Green Earth forces had split up to assist the other armies. Eagle had lent his airforce to Orange Star, Drake's ships were assisting Yellow Comet, who had been bogged down during the beach landings, and Jess' ground forces had been helping Blue Moon to smash through the entrenched Black Hole troops. _We're the nearest to the control center,_ Gradi thought, _but we won't get there in time at this rate..._ Gradi closed his eyes and reached out with his mind, trying to find out what the enemy's orders were. Olaf and Colin walked into the room as he began to say things aloud. "Troops...entrench...do your very best to slow the Allies down...protect the flanks...defend the mountain ridge to the east..." Gradi's eyes snapped open as he sensed his fellow CO's enter. "Gradi?" Olaf asked, looking at him. "What were you saying?" Gradi smiled slightly. "I was trying to read Hawke's orders," he said. "Sonja was right, he is just trying to slow us down as he prepares for a counterattack." Colin's eyes were wide. "That's amazing, Commander Gradi!" He cried. Olaf rolled his eyes. "You have too much awe and admiration to be healthy, boy..." Gradi chuckled. "Well, it gives him someone to look up to, doesn't it?" He said. Olaf stroked his beard. "Yes, well, what is your recommended order to our forces?" He asked gruffly. Gradi turned to look out of the windows.

"I suggest we focus on the mountain ridge to the east," Gradi said. "Hawke is ordering his army to defend it...which means it must be vital." Olaf looked at him quizzically. "And what makes you think that?" Gradi closed his eyes for a second, then opened them again. "Ask Sonja," He said, gesturing to the door. Olaf and Colin turned around to the door, and lo and behold, there stood Sonja, smirking. "It must be fun having a psychic for a CO, Olaf," She said as she walked in, a file of reports in her hand. "Gradi's right. That mountain ridge would give us a short cut right round the Black Hole trenches. It's his only weak point." Gradi nodded in agreement. "Spread the word," Olaf said. "Let's not give Hawke any more time to act! Order everything we have to attack the ridge and break through!"

Location: The Nexus, Mesa 2, Red Mesa.

Time: 1600 Hours OS Time, the next day..

The Allied Special Forces had been in a state of awe and shock ever since their transferral to Red Mesa. They had gazed around it's capital (and taken a tour, courtesy of Diesel), been given talks about Red Mesa and it's history, and more. But only now had they been allowed into the Nexus. They hadn't even seen the infamous Commander Shade during their stay...but most of them were adamant that he would make an appearance. Rumours had been circling around that he had had a relapse and was back in a wheelchair, but Cougar had debunked that rumour earlier. Right now they were occupying themselves with taking a look around the Nexus, under Cougar's watchful eyes, just to make sure they didn't break anything. Some were talking to a tech, who was more than happy to explain what was going to happen. "Basically, what happens is that we get you into those spacesuits," he said, gesturing to a row of suits on a rack at the far end off the room, "You all group together, and the Event Horizon will warp you up onto the missile platform itself. You place the bombs, set the timers, and we warp you back down in time to watch the fireworks." The soldiers nodded, then turned around and gasped as the doors to the Nexus opened.

Shade strolled through into the Nexus, trying his best to keep a calm face. His heart was pounding with fear and anxiety. He looked around the room, and his eyes rested on Cougar, who smiled and gave a small salute. Shade managed a smile and nodded back, his eyes trailing around the room and coming to rest on the Special Forces soldiers. Cougar raised an eyebrow, and stared at his superior. _Why is his medallion missing? He always wears that thing..._ Cougar thought as he noticed the absence of a glint of gold round Shade's neck. _Weird..._ Cougar decided to ask Shade about it later. Shade walked over to the group of Allied soldiers and smiled slightly. "I've heard that you've been itching to meet me," He said to the group. Some nodded, the others too busy looking at him. _Most of them probably think I'm too young to have such a reputation,_ he thought to himself. "Well, here I am." One of the braver soldiers spoke up. Shade, sir..." He began uncertainly. "Some of us would like to see your powers. Is it true you took out an entire Blue Moon forces with them alone?" Some of the soldiers nodded. They had heard about this from higher-ups in the Blue Moon Army, but they doubted it was true. To their astonishment, Shade nodded. "Yep. The energy drain damn near killed me," He said, "But I did do that. And as for my powers..." Shade snapped the fingers on his right hand, and electric sparks danced around his hand. "I'm nearly back to full power...a lot of rest does your body good." Shade was careful not to use too much energy – he needed it for later. He turned and bit his lip as he saw Diesel and Swift arrive. _Please don't be sad, Swift...I have to do this... _Shade managed a tired smile, and Diesel and Swift saluted back. Swift came over to Shade, an anxious smile on her face. "Want me to announce it?" She asked. Shade nodded. "You're better at these things than I am," He said. Swift nodded and walked over to a raised platform, where the Special Forces would assemble for warping. Everyone turned to look at her and fell silent.

"This is it, people!" Swift said, looking at them all. "The main attack on the control centre is faltering, even after a brilliant flank attack by Blue Moon. They won't reach the centre in time to stop the launch, so it's up to us to put the kibosh on that missile platform!" Everyone cheered, minus Shade, who was waiting for the right time to make his move. _This is it..._ he thought sadly.

"The proceedings are as follows: the Special Forces will suit up," Said Swift, gesturing towards a row of spacesuits on the wall, "And assemble here on the platform with their equipment. The Event Horizon will then charge up, lock co-ordinates on the missile platform, and warp them up there-"

"It won't work." Came a quiet voice. Everyone looked around in confusion and saw Shade at the back of the crowd, the usual light in his eyes gone, looking tired and depressed. _No turning back now..._ "The missile platform is in too high an orbit. You'd need more power – a lot more power than we have – to warp one person up there, let alone a whole Special Forces squad." Everyone's shoulder's visibly sagged as this information was processed. "Then...we've lost..." Said Swift quietly, looking at Shade, who shook his head. He paused as he thought. _This is the only way...but it's a one-way trip to hell. At least they'll remember..._ "I said we'd need a lot more power to warp just one person up there," said Shade. "And there's only one person who has that sort of power..." Everyone's eyes bulged. "Shade, no!" cried Swift. "You can't risk it!" Shade smiled sadly. "There's nothing to risk, really," he said sadly. "Once I get up there, I won't be able to come back." Everyone was silent as the enormity of this statement fell on them. "You mean..." Cougar said, eyes wide in disbelief. "Yes," said Shade, nodding, his eyes hard and determined. "Self-sacrifice to save everyone on the planet." Everyone assembled cried out loud at this, and Swift shook her head, tears starting to form in her eyes, wanting it not to be true. She ran to Shade and he hugged her, his own emotional walls crumbling as he started to shake. A single tear trickled down his cheek as he began to understand what his actions would do. Swift looked up at him, all hope gone from her face. "Please Matt...you can't...I-" Shade silenced her with a finger on her lips. "Would you rather I didn't go? Sarah, we'd all die. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one." Swift nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Matt..." Swift closed her eyes. "Matt...I just wanted to say...that..." She opened her eyes as Shade kissed her. She returned the kiss, letting herself rest in Shade's warm embrace. They broke apart, and Shade looked straight into Swift's eyes. "I feel the same way...I have for a long time. I was just blind to it...to my own heart..." Swift stared back, and said only one word:

"Go."

Location: Black Hole Main HQ

Time: 2000 Hours BH Time, the same day.

"Sensei's Battle Copters inbound!"

"That old man? Heh heh heh...fire the Missiles!!" Adder was having a good day. The Allies were throwing everything they had at the defences around the control centre, but every time their offensive crumbled. The hard way. With the amount of damage his units were causing, Adder was having a field day, using Snakebite (A/N: It may be Sidewinder for non-European countries. Go figure.) as fast as he could, his units surging forward. He had declined to go to the forward command post built for him, valuing his hide more than the others. However, he was having a hard time fighting off the team of Kanbei and Sonja. The father-daughter combo was ruthless, Sonja doing all the thinking and picking apart every weakness his forces had, and the self-styled samurai handing Adder's hindquarters to him on a plate. Apart from that however, Adder was...Adder. Even the absence of his mirror collection, blown up by a surprise attack on his HQ by Drake in the war, did not deter him. All of his troops knew what this meant; Adder was getting serious. Many were taking it as a sign of the Apocalypse.

"It's Eagle Mistress! Inbound with Lightning Strike activated!"

"That crop duster? Ready the Anti-Airs and Missiles! Scramble the Fighters! Swat them likes flies! Tee hee!!" Lash was having one heck of a time on her flank. She had to deal with both Max and Andy on the ground, as well as Eagle in the air, but her entrenched forces were holding. "Hey...wait...where's that redhead and her puny little men?" Lash wondered aloud. Her question was answered with short bursts of gunfire that echoed around her command post. Lash turned around and stared straight down the barrel of Sami's rifle. "Uh-oh..." Lash looked around. The bodies of her soldiers and techs lay around the room, with Sami's infantry storming the building. "Long time no see, Lash," said Sami, smiling wickedly. Lash's mind spun. How was she going to get out of this one? Her eyes darted around them room as she thought. "Don't even try to escape Lash," Sami growled. "We have the whole building now." To her surprise, Lash grinned happily. "I would like to stay and play, Reddie, but I've got a T Copter waiting for me! Toodles!" Before Sami could react, Lash had rolled to the side, picking up her Super Happy Genius Inventor's Death Remote (TM Lash), and nailing the "Run Away!" Button. She darted into a hidden elevator that had appeared in the wall. "Bye-bye!" Sami growled and gunned the trigger, but her shots bounced harmlessly off of the closing lift doors. "Dang...she got away..."

"Lord Flak! Gradi's forces incoming! He's nearly got his Super Power charged! Colin and Olaf on either side of his attack as well!"

"Huh? Oh...I gotta smash 'em, ya mean. Who's this Gra...Grab...Grod...Gradi person? What's so special about him?!" Flak was confused. No change there then. He was seeing off the Blue Moon assault, but Hawke was calling all the shots for the entire operation. It was Flak's incompetence, Hawke had said, that had nearly cost them the battle, as he didn't react at all to Blue Moon's assault on the mountain pass until it was nearly too late. Hawke himself was at the control centre for the missile platform, calmly watching the countdown tick by. Flak's mind – yes, he has one - switched back to there here and now as he heard something. "Huh?"

"I said, Sir, that Gradi is a psychic. He's very hard to fool or lead into traps. And his Super Power is called Mind Domination. It can put up to four different units under his control, if they are bunched close together!" Flak growled. "So what? Can he smash things like me? No! So smash 'em into bits!" The soldier groaned slightly. "Yes Sir..."

"Hmm..." Hawke was thinking silently. Not that he did anything _too_ loud, being Hawke, but he was especially silent as he scanned the battle lines. He turned away from the countdown clock for the missile platform on the computer in front of him, and addressed a techie. "Are there ANY Red Mesan forces among the Allied battle lines?" The tech was silent for a few seconds as he typed away. "Only the Red Zephyr, Sir," he said, "But it's safe to say that it's loaded full of troops." Hawke nodded. "You would have thought they'd commit more resources to this assault," He said to himself. Hawke's mind ran through things about Red Mesa, trying to find a reason why they were holding back. _Their relatively small numbers. Research. Internal strife. _Suddenly, a vivid image flashed across Hawke's mind. _The Capital City battle in Orange Star. Lash said Red Mesa used a superweapon to warp spacetime, but that's all she could figure out...oh no._ It took a few seconds for Hawke to register the emotion he was feeling.

It was fear.

Location: Black Hole Orbital Missile Platform, in high geosynchronous orbit.

Time: 1630 Hours OS Time, the same day.

The unfurled missile platform hung in space, a dark grey beast of a satellite. The main body was one large cylinder, five hundred metres in length, and halfway down its length two large tubes, one on either side, jutted out. On the ends of these were the missile launchers themselves. Large cylinders, roughly two hundred metres in length, were arranged in a two by six formation, in order to keep the platform's profile as slim as possible. There were no solar panels, for the demented weapons of Lash didn't need them. Her patented fusion reactors powered all of Lash's superweapons. On the top end of the main body, there was a bright flash, dwarfed by the size of the platform. A person in a black and red spacesuit somehow clung to the metallic surface of the platform with no assistance.

Shade's expression was grim. He had to get this over with quickly, not just because magnetically anchoring himself to the platform was slowly draining his energy reserves, but he didn't want to prolong the whole thing. If he had to die, he wanted it to be quick, for Swift's sake. _Oh, and the fact that this missile platform will fire if I don't GET MY ASS IN GEAR!!_ Shade thought to himself. He started to walk down the main body of the platform, his strides determined and resolute. He gazed around as he walked. The missile platform looked dangerous even _before_ you knew what it did. He whispered one thing aloud, knowing that his voice could be heard back down in Red Mesa. "War might be a necessary evil...but Black Hole's evil extends far beyond necessary." He didn't know it, but that quote would live on... Shade arrived at the middle of the main body and looked down at the plate below his feet.. He was supposed to place a detpack here to blow the reactor, but he had other ideas. A plan had already started to form in his mind. Instead of placing the detpack, he threw it away. _It might detonate during re-entry, and if it's on me... _He then took a few steps back, knelt down, and, with some effort, prised open the plate. He grinned as the reactor's control panel glowed before him. He pressed a few buttons, silently thanking Sonja for getting the access codes, and keyed in a few instructions, setting the containment fields for the fusion reaction to collapse into the reaction itself after a delay of forty-five minutes. The resulting electromagnetic maelstrom, combing with the magnetosphere during re-entry...Shade smiled. It was a hideously long shot, but it might work...

With the time limit he had set as an incentive, he set to work placeing the detpacks around weak points in the body of the platform...

Location: Black Hole Missile Platform Control Centre.

Time: 2100 Hours BH Time, the same day.

Hawke sighed in defeat as he realised what Red Mesa had done. He had already called Lash and asked her about the missile platform's defences...

__

"Defences? What for?"

"Hmm...well, let's see. How about Red Mesa WARPING SOMEONE UP THERE TO RIGHT ROYALLY (expletive deleted) UP THE MISSILE PLATFORM?!" Hawke was starting to lose his cool a little bit, it seemed. Everyone minus Lash dove for cover as an aura of black energy started to form around Hawke, signifying his rapidly increasing anger.

"Ah...well...err...you said you wanted it ready a fast as possible, but I wanted to install some cool stuff, like a self-destruct system..."

"And the defences."

"Yeah. But to get it in orbit by your deadline, we had to cut out all that fun stuff..."

"I see. Everyone. Out. Now." Hawke's voice was eerily calm as he eyed everyone dangerously, daring them to stay. No-one did, much preferring to be sipping smoothies in the bar than be trapped in the control centre with a very, very, VERY angry Hawke. As the techs and Lash ran, the sound of an explosion made them look back. Red energy was streaming out of the blown-out windows of the control centre as Hawke released his anger in the only way a male knows how: smashing things.

He called up the other Black Hole CO's via radio, realising that everything was as good as lost. "Flak, Lash, Adder. Tell your troops to keep on fighting. Take several regiments of units, however, and meet me in the main hanger of our HQ. We're leaving."

Location: Black Hole Orbital Missile Platform, in high geosynchronous orbit.

Time: 1710 Hours OS Time, the same day.

Shade's heart was pounding as he set the last charge and ran slowly up the main body of the missile platform. Three minutes later, he skidded to a stop on the top of the cylinder and tried to catch his breath. Swift's voice came through the comm system, lined with sadness. "I guess...this is it then..." Shade nodded. "Sarah..."

"Yes?"

"I'll always love you." Shade closed his eyes as he felt the missile platform shake. The detpacks were silently exploding, their sound never reaching anyone's ears. At exactly the same time, the reactor's containment fields imploded. The whole satellite shook violently as it began to sink downwards, towards the planet below it. Shade gritted his teeth. His plan was in action. He started to charge up electromagnetic energy, drawing up as much power as he could from the very depths of his being. His fields started to interact with the electromagnetic maelstrom of the remains of the reactor, and both fields became a storm on energy as they sped downwards through the magnetic fields of the planet. Shade was praying silently the whole time, praying that his plan would work, because the other alternative involved pearly white gates. He switched his comlink off – is he did die, he didn't want everyone to hear his anguished scream. As soon as the link was cut he cried out, his voice drained as he tried to keep his energy in check. He was now on all fours, magnetically glued to the platform. "Any...second...now..." The platform started to crumble, electricity lancing around its body, mixing with the red-hot glow of re-entry into the atmosphere.

Shade's world shook.

There was a brilliant flash as the heat of re-entry reached him.

He saw no more.

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End of Chapter 10

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Author Note: Well that's that. No reason to be getting too sad.

Swift: In tears What?! Shade died after saving Wars World and confessing his love for me! Of course there's a reason to be sad!

Did you even look at the Author Note? Points

Swift: ...Reads, sniffles A sequel? But what about – mmmph! Is duct-taped

Don't worry, it'll all work out. I hope...Anyways, this is the end-

Hawke: That's my line!!

-Of the fic. But stay tuned, I have a depressing epilogue planned!


	11. Epilogue

Author Note: It's the depressing epilogue! Excellent! Air guitar

Seriously though, this is in a way the epilogue of Advance Wars: Red Mesa, and the prologue of Red Mesa 2 – The Crusade War, the upcoming sequel. So sit tight folks! I have much more time on my hands now.

Also, Master of the Phoenix, I would take you up on your offer, but I have other plans. However, I am planning to do a humorous fanfic based on the Red Mesa continuity, so...knowing grin

Disclaimer: Advance Wars, Advance Wars 2, and their content are copyright Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. Red Mesa and its CO's are my intellectual property.

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Advance Wars: Red Mesa – Epilogue

By CO Shade.

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Cougar's POV

Damn...why did he go through with it? What selfless quality lodged in every fibre of his being forced him to make that decision? He sacrificed himself to save us all...

Swift - Sarah, is devastated. She's been an emotional wreck ever since Matt died, and visits his grave everyday. She's always wearing that medallion Matt wore, maybe to remind herself – and us all – of him, to remind us of the greatest leader Red Mesa ever had. Yes, even ex-General Victor conceded that fact, accepting that Shade might not have been as directly powerful as him, he can – could, bring anyone to their knees with his abilities. He knew us all well, and treated us like his family, throwing the chain of command out of the window sometimes. And yet we never really, truly knew him – even after all that time, his past was a mystery to us. All we knew about him was that his real name was Matthew Awner. He was 20 – too young to die like that – and his abilities in the field of battle. He never told us where he came from or what his past was like. I asked Victor about him, as we all have in time, but he refused to say anything. I detected a weird glint in his eye, like there was something about Matt that he could not or wished not to reveal.

Now that he's gone, it feels like the heart and soul of our country has been torn out in the most cruel and barbaric manner. The day of Matt's death – June twenty-third – has been designated as a national day of mourning. Without him, we're significantly weaker. He was shining, guiding light to the Army – to everyone.

Rest in peace, Matt. May the heavens be merciful on your soul.

Diesel's POV

Matt...everyone's taking his loss so hard, including myself. The day of his funeral was especially hard...

__

It was a grey, overcast day, as if the very weather were in mourning. There was no rain, but the sombre mood was enough to dampen anyone's spirits. Every CO in Cosmo Land was there, including Nell, and, surprisingly, Hachi. We were all in black, and even Andy looked sad, much unlike his usual, hyper self. Cougar was in black as well, ditching his trademark clothes in favour of his black and red military uniform, his hair tied back in a ponytail, giving in to Matt's wishes for once. He had always wanted Cougar to wear something connected with the Army...

Each of the remaining Red Mesan CO's gave their speeches about Matt. Each noted his admirable qualities. Swift was in no condition to speak – she had her head buried in my shoulder most of the way through, crying. When my turn came to speak, I went up to the podium and faced everyone, biting my lip. I gazed over the silent, mourning crowd, and opened my mouth.

"There is not much left that I can say about Matt," I said. "But he deserves to be spoken about by every single one of us. He was taken from us in the cruellest way possible -–forced into a lose-lose situation by circumstances beyond his control. He could have backed out, and let us all die at the hands of Black Hole. But his human spirit overthrew the instinct of self-preservation that we all have, and he gave himself to save this world. But he made sure we would remember his sacrifice. Our memories of him are ingrained into our very souls, and are a grim reminder of what will happen if we squabble amongst ourselves while Death knocks at the door yet again."

"We are only as strong as we are united as weak as we are divided – we must not allow conflict to come between us if we want any hope of winning over Black Hole, because God knows they don't argue. Let Matt be remembered for being more than what everyone knows; let him be remembered as a symbol of hope for this world." I stepped down form the podium and returned to my seat amidst applause.

Matt was given a full military send-off – Last Post and all. He deserved it for his actions. There was a quote on his gravestone that struck a bell within my memory:

"War might be a necessary evil...but Black Hole's evil extends far beyond necessary." He said that when he was going to his doom...

So help us God, when we face Black Hole again. We won't hold back...

Swift's POV

Most of us are still wondering why...why he did it. I think I know now...he wanted to act because it's in his very nature to. He refused to accept the alternative because it would go against his very beliefs. How do I know? Because I know where he was born, and where he came from. Where did I get this information?

From Matt himself. When I returned home...that day...there was a video message waiting for me. I was in too much of a state to give any thought to it...I was crying non stop, heavily depressed, and just wanted to sleep, tiredness pulling at my consciousness. I stopped when I realised who it was from...I pressed play almost immediately.

Matt came up on the viewscreen, his face melancholy. "Sarah...I'm sending you this because I know that I'm going to die..." He said, fighting tears. "By the time you watch this, I'll be nothing more than dust and echoes..." He took a deep breath, and steadied himself. "I just wanted to say...I love you. I've always loved you with the whole of my heart, even though my head has only just realised it. Since I know I'm a dead man walking, I want you to know everything." My eyes went wide when he continued. "Where I came from, what happened in my past, why I have to do this. Everything." I wiped my eyes and sat down on the couch, watching the picture of Matt intently. What he said shocked me, even as it made total sense...

"I was born in the Holy Union of the Third Covenant."

It all made sense! The way he acted, so very pure, righteous, and altruistic. He always put the needs of others before himself, even as he hid behind a shroud of mystery. He we hadn't come to that discovery already was weird...people born in the Third Covenant were educated from birth to have the above qualities, so it was clear to see why Matt had made that sacrifice...to do the alternative was heresy.

"I lived what you could call a normal life there for sixteen years. After that, I left the Third Covenant for other lands...I was young, and had a thirst for adventure. I have a brother back home, Valorian. Weird name, powerful CO. I hear he's pretty high up in their Army nowadays...anyway, I eventually wound in Red Mesa after journeying for about a year. I've been here ever since." Matt paused. I sniffed slightly, and waited for him to continue. "I wish I could tell you more, but Father Time waits for no man," He said. "If you or Red Mesa needs help, contact these co-ordinates at a high communications frequency." The numbers 218.230.444.567.777 flashed up on the screen. "It's a secure channel to the Third Covenant. Ask for my brother." He paused again, and wiped a tear from his eye. "I've left you something. A little something...to remind you of me. Check in your bedroom." The video ended. I did what Matt said, and went upstairs to my bedroom. There, lying on the pillow, was Matt's medallion. I broke down and hugged it to myself, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Goodbye..."

Location: Unknown.

Time: Unknown.

Communiqué intercepted.

Nature of Communiqué: Unknown.

Communiqué originated from: Unknown.

Time of Communiqué: Unknown.

Open? Y/N.

Y

Username and password required.

User: Sonja

Pass:

Accepted. Welcome Commander Sonja.

Open intercepted Communiqué? Y/N.

Y

Opening Communiqué...

Working...

Communiqué is encoded.

Attempting to find closest encryption method.

Near match found. Encryption nearly matches that of top priority Black Hole transmissions.

Decoding...

WARNING: Communiqué not decoded fully.

Nature of Communiqué has been found.

Communiqué is a text-only transmission.

Opening...

Hawke: Lash. You !!!! that you !!!!! something.

Lash: I sure !!!. It's a !!!!!!.

Hawke: Who?

Lash: It's !!!!!.

Hawke: Interesting. !! managed to !!!!!!!?

Lash: Yes. Can I !!! !!! for research?

Hawke: Yes. !! would be !!!! beneficial if !! !!!!! utilise !!! power.

Lash: Took the !!!!! right out of my !!!!!.

Hawke: Keep !!! !!!!! though...!! could work !!! us.

Lash: !!!!. Lash out.

Communiqué ends.

Save Communiqué? Y/N

Y

Saving...Save Complete.

Log Out

Logging out...

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End of Epilogue

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Author Note: And there we go. That wraps this fanfic up. Big thanks go to all my reviewers, and the insane folks at Advance Wars Net.

Hawke: Why?

Because I can, Hawke. Anyway, sit tight and wait for the sequel, or I'll bash you with Shade's gravestone.

...Repeatedly.


End file.
